The Child of Hyrule
by Firebird29
Summary: What happend after Link was sent back? Did he get to live a normal life? Or not? Rated T for saftey!
1. Prologue

The Child of Hyrule

Prologue

Jazmyn's Dream

_The land was covered in dark clouds. Evil had summoned that blanket of black. Evil had called it forth for its own foul deeds. And I'm stuck in the middle of it, unable to find a way out. Suddenly, a boy appears. He's more of a man, really. A sword and shield rest on his back, and a blue light flutters about his head. For a moment, that is all I can see before he turns slightly, as if looking at me side-long. His clothing is styled like that of the Kokiri, from his hat all the way down to his boots. The only problem is that all Kokiri stay in a perpetual eleven-year-old state. So why does he look like he's eighteen? All of a sudden, five shafts of light appear. Green, in the deep forest; Red high on Death_ _Mountain. Blue from Lake_ _Hylia; Gold in the Desert, Purple from Kakariko. They join together high above me, forming a glorious white light. But even with this dazzling display, my eyes are drawn back to the boy. Three stones and six medallions hover over his head, and he holds a blue ocarina to his lips. On his left hand I can see a glowing triangle, even through his gauntlet. Why is that symbol familiar? My train of thought cuts off as he begins to play a soothing melody that flows over my very soul. Together, the melody and the light drive back the clouds, letting light fall on Hyrule once more. _

"Hey, Jazmyn! Wake up! You've been asleep for hours! Come on, we have work to do." Jazmyn opened her eyes. She blinked in the bright light, then pulled the sheets back over her head.

"Go away, Leyan. I'm trying to sleep here!" She mumbled at him. He glared at her sheet-covered form. He thought a moment, then reached out and ripped them off of her bed.

"That's just too darn bad! We're lucky to have a place to stay right now, and if we want to keep it, we need to the chores asked of us! I'll be back in ten minutes with your breakfast, so you had better be dressed." He stalked out of their tiny room and downstairs to the kitchen. Jaz sighed, but got up and did as her adopted brother said. She rummaged around in a drawer, and hung her head as she discovered the only thing she had that was clean was a dress. She pulled it on, uncomfortable in the yards of loose fabric. She greatly preferred a tunic, a shirt, and leggings. They were much better suited to traveling.

Jazmyn loved to wander around, but Le wanted to stay in one place for a little while. That's they were living in Kakariko Village, under the care of a woman who calls herself Jan. She had taken them in because she greatly disapproved of ten-and-a-half-year-olds wandering around on their own. She said she was a friend of Impa's, which explained why they were living in Impa's house. For now, at any rate. She had been very strict when setting the rules, which meant that Jaz would get bored soon and want to leave. She always loved living on the edge, and having the freedom to go where she wanted when she wanted. Leyan came back into the room and set her breakfast tray on her bed.

"Thanks, Le." She said as she smiled. It was an omelet and toast, her favorite. This was the first home they had had in over two months, which meant that it had been two months since she last ate omelets.

"No prob, sis. Hey, did you have that dream again?" Jaz looked up in surprise from her omelet, half of it already stuffed in her face. She swallowed, hard, the stared at him in disbelief.

"How did you know?" Le grinned at her, the made her sit in front of him so he could pull her hair back.

"Easy," he told her as he pulled the brush through her mane of red and white hair. "You where mumbling, and humming that tune again. I swear you must have that melody memorized by now!" Jaz shrugged uncomfortably.

"Please! You've never said a swear word in you life! Besides, it's kinda hard to forget," she mumbled. "I just, I feel like I should know what that melody is, and the symbol on the boy's hand. It's just so familiar. And the look on his face . . ." She said. Le had a little trouble understanding her, because she was massaging her face in her hands. He didn't really need to hear her, though. He'd heard it all before. But why did he get this funny feeling whenever she talked about the boy?

"What symbol?" The siblings jumped, then turned and saw Jen standing in the doorway, hands on her hips. Apparently, _she_ had excellent hearing. "I shouldn't have to repeat myself. What symbol?" Jaz looked over at Le, who shrugged, and turned back to Jen.

"It was a triangle, on his left hand, and it had a smaller, up-side down triangle cut out of the middle. That caused it to form three small ones, and all three glowed pretty bright." They both watched in fascination as Jen's face paled of all color. Almost as an afterthought, Jaz added: "But now that I think about it, the bottom right one glowed brighter than the other two." Jen's eyes opened wide, the shock visible on her face.

"A-and the melody? Do you remember what it was?" Jaz nodded.

"Sure," she replied. "If you would bring me an instrument, I could even play it for you." Jen nodded.

"Good idea. What type of instrument do you play?" Jaz shrugged.

"A little of everything, I suppose. Drums, woodwinds, guitar. Anything, really." Jen raised her eyebrows at her, but Le jumped in before she could say anything.

"Jazmyn has always been like that. Put any kind of instrument in front of her and give her ten minutes to fiddle with it, and she can play it." Jen studied them both for a moment, then shook her head.

"I'll be right back. I think I have just the thing." Le seized the opportunity to finish Jaz's hair, so it would be back out of her way for the day. They began tidying up their room, but no sooner had they started than Jen reappeared. "I can't find it. Stupid house," she muttered under her breath. To Jaz, she said: "I don't have it right now. Could you sing it, or hum it?" Jaz immediately launched into the tune, singing a soft "daa" on each note. She got no more than half way through it when she noticed Jen's legs were shaking. Jen collapsed on the bed, unable to stand on her own.

"Th-that melody . . . are you positive you have never heard it before?" Jen's voice was forceful, even though she was shivering.

"I'm positive. The first time I heard it was the first dream." Jaz told her, slightly bewildered.

"When did the dreams start? I need a date, or a location. Anything you can remember!" Jaz looked over at Le, fright in her eyes. She tried to focus on Le, but her eyes felt as if they were being dragged back toward Jen.

"It was about a month-and-a-half ago. I think we were near the Lost Woods. Right, Le?" Le nodded in agreement.

"I'm going to go get some water for you, Jen," he said, and he started downstairs. By the time he returned, Jen had wrestled her voice under control, and had gotten Jaz to calm down a bit. He paused at the door to listen.

"Can you tell me everything that happened in the dream?" Jen asked. Jaz nodded silently. Le pushed the door open with his foot, and set the water tray down.

"I'll be downstairs if you need me," he told them. As he left, he heard Jaz start to explain the dream. He stopped at the top of the stairs, enjoying her voice. But as soon as she got to the part about the boy, he had to leave. He always got butterflies in his stomach when she talked about him. He had absolutely no idea why, but it made him extremely uncomfortable. That did mean that he wasn't around to hear Jen's next announcement, though.

"I think there is more to this dream than you think, Jazmyn. But enough of that for right now. Go get Leyan. You two need to pack. We're leaving as soon as you're done." Jaz looked at her quizzically.

"What? Why? Where are we going?" Jen looked at her sternly.

"I don't need to explain myself to you. Now go on, get your brother and get packed. We have a long way to go." Jen watched as the young girl scurried out of the room. She still didn't believe that they were truly brother and sister. Oh well. _I'm sure they only say that so they don't get separated, _she thought. She shook her head wearily, then headed to her own room. She would need to pack a lot of things. If her suspicions were correct, she wouldn't be back at this house for a very long time.

By the time Jen lugged her bags downstairs, Jazmyn and Leyan were ready. Jen pointed them out the door, then spoke quietly to the guard outside. After that, she hoisted her packs onto her shoulders, and hustled the two children down the steps and toward the entrance of the village. They reached the bottom of the steps, and set off for the bridge.

"Ok, first stop is the castle." Jen said. Jaz and Le stopped dead in their tracks. Jen had taken all of a dozen steps before she realized they weren't following. She looked back and raised an eyebrow in a silent question. Le finally gave in and answered.

"Well, we aren't really sure if they'll welcome us with open arms," he said hesitantly. "Last time we were near the place they got a little ticked off at us before chasing us down to the Market Square." Jen said nothing, choosing to simply stare the two youngsters down. They both shifted under her gaze, and Jaz finally decided to answer.

"They don't really like us because the last time we were there we tried to sneak in," she mumbled. Under a glare from Le, she amended that with: "Alright, fine. _I _tried, Le just followed to keep me out of trouble. I wanted to meet Princess Zelda, and talk to her. From what I'd heard, it sounded like she needed a friend. It was about a year ago, and we've tried to steer clear of the place ever since." Jen stared at them for a moment, then threw back her head and laughed. Jaz and Le looked at each other, startled. By the time Jen was finished, she had to wipe tears of mirth from her eyes.

"You won't have to worry about the guards. Remember my friend, Impa?" Both of the children nodded. "Well, she just so happens to be the Princess's very own caretaker. If she will forgive you, you'll never have another worry in the world. About the guards, at least." Le immediately relaxed, and did a quick hop-skip thing to catch up with Jen. Jaz was still a little worried, but she knew she would never find out if it was safe if she didn't try.

They traveled for the rest of the morning, making good time to the Market. Jen lead them past all of the shops, straight to the pathway up towards the castle. By the time they arrived at the gate, Le and Jaz were huddled behind Jen, trying to make themselves as small as possible. Jen showed something to the guard, and he let them through as he snapped to attention. Jen walked with an air of confidence and leadership. They past by all the guards without a hitch, and walked right up to the main doors. When Jen saw that Jaz looked a little daunted, she detoured and took them around to a side door. She rapped on the wood smartly, and a guard poked his head out.

"Yes, Ms? How can I help you today?" He asked. Jen showed him the same thing she had shown the guard at the gate, and he instantly snapped to attention.

"Please go find Impa for me," she said pleasantly. The guard snapped off a salute before he scurried away. Jaz looked up a Jen, a look of awe on her face.

"How did you get the guards to listen to you? What did you show them?" Jen glanced down at the two children standing behind her, her brow furrowed.

"Didn't I tell you?" When they both shook their heads she sighed, then produced the peace of paper she had shown the guards. She held it down at their eye level so they could read it. "I happen to be one of the King's top Generals." The siblings stared at the certificate, amazed.

"Did you fight in a war?"

"Was the training really hard?"

"Why did you-"

"How did you-" They both stopped when Jen threw up her hands to stem the tide of questions.

"Calm down! I can't understand you when you talk over each other!" Jaz and Le looked at each other, embarrassed. The guard chose that moment to poke his head back out the door.

"If you'll follow me this way, General Dase?" He beckoned the trio in the door. As they walked along behind him, Jen returned her attention to the children.

"Now, if you're good and ask one question at a time, I'll do my best to answer them." Le grinned like a kid in a candy store, and Jaz's face lit up like a candle. One by one, their questions came pouring out. More than once they had to stop and take a deep breath to calm themselves down. They had never talked to a _General _before! By the time the solider had stopped and allowed them to precede him through a door, the two youngsters were deeply submerged into their conversation. When they saw the furnishings around them, however, they fell silent.

Plush cushions covered lounging chairs, velvets and silks used for almost every cloth. Rich hangings hung in front of open windows, which let in both light and a refreshing breeze. Low wooden tables sat next to the chairs, covered in lace tablecloths. A set of fine china tea cups waited near by on a silver tray. Jen motioned at them to sit, so they dumped their meager packs on the floor and tentatively sat in some of the chairs. They heard the door click shut behind them as the guard left. They needed only wait moments before they heard an impatient tapping sound. It came nearer and grew louder at the same time, so it was safe for them to assume it was footsteps. The door one the other side of the room slammed open, and a whirl of white, blue, and purple swept in.

"I told you, child, you must wait until you are done! It would never be proper for a young princess to be caught with her guard down!"

"And I told you, Impa, this is the first time I've met kids my own age! I don't care how I look, I want to meet them!" The fight between the two abruptly ended as they realized that they were not alone in the room. Both Le and Jaz were on their feet, their cheeks a little red. Jen was sitting right where she had been, observing the scene with a tea cup on her hand.

"My, my. It seems like the Princess is even more of a handful than you described in your letters, Impa!" Jen set the cup down with a big grin on her face, and she rose. Impa blinked once or twice, then smiled.

"Jen, you old rascal. Why didn't you tell me you were going to visit?" Jen shrugged her shoulders slightly before embracing her childhood friend.

"Believe me; it was as much as surprise to me as it is to you. I met this young lady-" she indicated Jaz "-and after hearing some of the things she had to say, I knew I needed to bring her to you and the Princess at once." Impa nodded, her gaze focused on Jaz. Jen interrupted by saying: "Can I talk to you alone for a minute, Impa? There's something I need to discuss with you. Besides, I'm sure the Princess wants to meet these two without all the pomp and ceremony." Impa nodded, and led Jen through a side door, leaving the kids alone.

Once Impa had closed the door, she raised an eye brow at Jen. "Ok, out with it. You have never had the discretion to do something like that. You just blurt out what you have to say without a thought for who is listening."

"Normally, I'd say your right. But this time, I have an excuse. You saw the girl, right?" Impa nodded. "The red hair and the white bangs. Her white eyelashes and red-gold eyes. Those are all natural. She has never used a bottle of dye or a pair of contacts in her life. She doesn't happen to ring a bell, does she? Maybe, oh, I don't know, from a legend?" Impa's brow furrowed.

"Wha-Oh. You don't mean-?" Jen grimaced.

"I do. I think she is the one said to appear only when another's destiny has been altered. I believe that she is the Child of Hyrule."

* * * *

After Jen and Impa left, Zelda looked curiously at Jaz and Le. She remembered what Jen had said, and decided informal was the best way to go. So, instead of curtsying, she stuck her hand out.

"Hi! My name is Zelda. What's yours?" Jaz and Le looked at each other warily. Was this how a princess was supposed to act? They stared at her hand just long enough to make her uncomfortable, and then Jaz decided to break the ice.

"My name is Jazmyn. But my friends call me Jaz. The silent one standing next to me it Leyan, but I just call him Le." She stuck her hand in Zelda's as she made the introductions. She smiled as warmly as she could, then plopped herself back down on her chair. As Zelda and Le sat she smiled even wider, then started giggling to herself. Zelda quirked an eyebrow at her.

"What's so funny?" Jaz coughed, and her eyes opened a little wider.

"I tried to sneak into the palace about a year ago, to meet you. Unfortunately, the guards caught me and threw me out. If I had known all I had to do to meet you was find Jen and have a crazy dream, I would have done it back then!" Zelda giggled with her, then straightened at the mention of the dream.

"Could you tell me what the dream was about? I have strange dreams sometimes, and Impa says that they are prophesies. Maybe I can help you interpret your dream." Jaz nodded enthusiastically.

"That would be great! Jen wouldn't tell me anything. She got all worked up and everything! It was kinda freaky." Zelda nodded in understanding.

"I know exactly what you mean. Impa does that to me sometimes, and it's very annoying. I had one just recently . . . oh, my. I'm sorry. Why don't we talk about your dream first?"

"Yes, please do." They all jumped when they heard Impa's voice. They hadn't even heard her open the door again. "Jazmyn, please describe your dream. In as much detail as you can remember." Jaz swallowed, and it was hard. She had told Le, and Jen, but that had been in a private, one-on-one setting. Now, she had to tell Impa, the _Princess Zelda,_ and make Le and Jen sit through it again? She felt a slight pressure on her arm. She glanced over her shoulder, and saw that it was Le's hand. He gave her a reassuring smile and squeezed before letting go and picking up his own tea cup.

"Well, the dreams themselves started about a month-and-a-half ago. We had been wandering near the Lost Woods, but we knew enough about them to know that we couldn't go in unless we were welcomed." Jaz started right at the beginning, so she wouldn't have to go back later. She talked for what seemed like hours, covering everything from the first dream to the present moment. She closely watched both Impa's and Zelda's face, but they showed no reaction. _No doubt because of all the meetings Princess Zelda attends. Honestly, the King has been training her since she could talk! It's like he expects to die tomorrow, and Zelda will have to take over. _She shook her head, clearing it of stray thoughts, and finished her tale. She watched anxiously for reactions from the two who hadn't heard the story before.

Both Zelda and Impa sat quietly for a moment. Impa turned her burning gaze to Zelda, who was staring down at her hands. She wrung them in her lap, fidgeting every time she glanced up at Impa. Finally, something in her resolve snapped.

"Ok, Ok! I admit it. I did what you made me promise not to. I sent Link back so he could have a normal childhood! I didn't want to take that away from him!" She cried. Impa's face, normally immobile, looked fit to burst with rage.

"How could you?!? Not only did you promise me, you promised yourself! Besides, it wasn't your choice to make! You weren't the one who gave him his destiny. You were _not_ the one who dragged him into this. Your destiny was to help him, then guide Hyrule to an age of prosperity! Not to send him back so he could do everything over again! What time did you send him, and us, back to?!?" Zelda shifted, then mumbled. "I'm sorry. I couldn't hear you," Impa said.

"It was going to be the day when Navi first came to him, but I got distracted as I wove the spell, so we went a little farther back then that." Impa's eyes asked the question she didn't voice. "Ok, a lot. Six years, actually." Jaz's head twitched at that.

"That's when Ms. Oravk found me." All eyes turned in her direction. "Well, she was the first person to take me in. She had already taken in 6 children, including Le. She told me that she found me in one of the farthest and coldest mountain passes. It was near to were she lived. It was when she died that I started wandering. Le and I were best friends by that point, so he came with. Before she died, Ms. Oravk told me that I had only been about 4 when she found me, and it had been like I appeared out of thin air. She said she had been walking the pass, looking for a certain fungus, and stumbled over my little form lying in the snow. I have no memory from before that. It's like I didn't exist." Jen and Impa exchanged a knowing look.

"Right, well, in that case, I'm going to have to send you away sooner than I thought." Jaz and Le's heads snapped up at that.

"You're going to do what?" They demanded simultaneously.

"Your destiny is to leave here, and learn how to take care of yourself. Then, you have to come back and help with the most important quest in the country. Trust me. It will make more sense to you when you're older." Jen told Jaz. She turned to Le. "Your destiny will be slightly different, but no less important. You both will accompany me to a remote region, far beyond the lands you have roamed. You will be trained. It'll be hard. There will be times when you want to give up. But you both can do it. I know you can." She stood. "So? Are you willing to throw away the lives you have now, and pursue a different, and difficult, course?" Jazmyn stood, Leyan only a second behind her. Without a moment's hesitation, they nodded.


	2. Chapter 1

Hey! Sorry for the lack of Authors notes in the prologue. I forgot to add them. :D Anyway, I hope you will enjoy my story! It has a lot of the original game mixed in with a few ideas all my own.

At this point, I own Jaz, Le, and Jen. Everybody—and everything—else belongs to Nintendo.

At the start of this story, I'm assuming that Link was sent back and lost all of his memories. Yes, I realize that I'm totally skipping over Majora's Mask, but I don't really care.

Please let me know if it reads well. It was really hard to write in present tense, and if it sounds funny I'll go back and change it all to past tense. Let me know if you like the story line! I'm gonna continue it even if you don't, but I always appreciate comments and suggestions!

I think that's all . . . .

Oh, no it's not. Please ignore the occasional grammar mistake. I have a rather old version of Word, and it doesn't transfer to the site very well.

Enjoy!

~~Firebird29~~

Chapter 1

_Darkness is all around. I can see nothing more than a hand-span in front of me. All at once, tall flames shoot up, forming a ring around me and casting dull shadows. A sound reaches my ear, and I turn instinctively towards it. A white horse bearing two riders, a woman and a small girl, races by. The girl looks at me like she wants to tell me something, but she can't find the words. As they disappear into the flames, I hear another sound. I look up to see a tall man seated on a huge horse. It is hard to make out his features in the half-light, but it is easy to see his black clothing and the orange jewel placed on his forehead. He pulls on the reigns, forcing the horse to rear backwards, and begins to laugh menacingly. I stand my ground, never looking away from him. He waves a hand at me dismissively, and a ball of black races toward me from it. It blasts me backwards, and I land flat on my back. The evil man watches me fall, then gallops past. _

"Ahhhhhh!" I sit up, pushing blankets onto the floor. My hair is sopping wet from my own perspiration, and my clothing has seen better nights. I reach up to shove a lock of hair out of my face, breathing rapidly as I try to calm down my heart.

_Goddess! That's the fifth dream this week! They never used to be this frequent._ I look out my window, out over the Kokiri village. Seeing the peace and tranquility that lay there, I wonder: _Am I the only person here who ever gets nightmares? Am I the only one who has ever wanted something more that this? _No matter; I'm so tired that I can't see straight, so I tuck my train of thought into a corner of my brain and lay down to try and sleep some more.

****

"Oh, Navi the Fairy …Listen to my words, the words of the Great Deku Tree …dost thou sense it? The climate of evil descending upon this Realm …malevolent forces even now are mustering to attack our land of Hyrule. For so long, the Kokiri Forest, the source of life, has stood as a barrier, deterring outsiders and maintaining the order of the World. But … before this tremendous evil power, even my Power is as nothing … It seems that the time has come for the boy without a fairy to begin his journey …"

Navi nods in understanding. As she turns to fly off, she takes one last look over her shoulder at the Great Deku Tree, her protector and friend. Then she flies off the find the boy without a fairy.

"Now, if I remember correctly, he lives in the house with the ladder . . . Ah! There it is," she mutters to herself.

She aims herself, and then rockets off towards his house. Unfortunately, she doesn't see the fence in her way, and smacks right into it.

"Oww! Stupid fence," she shakes her head to clear it, before flying through the fence–much slower than before–towards her objective. She flutters through the open door, and stops in mid-air, right above the boy. He was tossing and turning, first one way and then the other. Navi shook her head, then began shouting at the top of her lungs. The noise that emerged was about as loud as a normal speaking voice for someone who was taller than 6 inches.

****

"Hey, Link! Get up, Link! WAKE UP!!!" I snap my head up, and find myself staring at a wall. I was lying on my stomach, as that happened to be the most comfortable position, so I couldn't see much of anything for a moment. Then a blue light flew right into my face, startling me so much that I yelp and fall out of bed.

"What's your problem?! Can't someone get a little quality sleep around here?!" I shout.

"Quality? Please! I saw you tossing and turning. Having a nightmare?" I narrow my eyes at the shiny blue thing in front of me.

"For your information, I—wait. Are you . . . are you a fairy?!?" I ask, stunned that a fairy would come to me after so long. The girl in front of me flipped her hair and smiled.

"Yes. I was sent to fetch you by the Great Deku Tree. My name is--"

"Navi." She gives me a startled look.

"How did you know that?" She demands. I shrug.

"Intuition?" I suggest.

"Humph. Doesn't matter right now. Come on! You don't keep the protector of the forest waiting!"

I stand up, still in a state of shock, and nod. Navi waits for me as I re-make my bed and straighten up my house. I waste almost ten minutes looking for my hat, when Navi flies under my table and pulls it out.

"Thanks," I mutter, a little embarrassed. I stuff it on my head, then exit my house to the platform outside. I back-flip off said platform, ignoring the ladder. Navi shakes her head at me, but I stick my tongue out at her.

_What kinda sissy needs a ladder? And why, in the name of the three Goddesses, am I the only Kokiri stuck with one? Every other Tree house in the village opens on the Forest floor. Why doesn't mine?_

_**Because you aren't a Kokiri . . .**_

I shake my head to rid myself of that nagging voice. That stupid voice that usually says the right--or in this case, true--thing, which is usually something I don't want to hear. Like being told I wasn't a Kokiri.

I turn around and find myself face-to-face with Saria.

"Hi Link. Hey, look! A fairy finally came to you! Now you're a true Kokiri!" I gap at her for a minute, remembering what the little voice in my head had just said, then nod.

"Yeah, she came to me this morning. Navi, this is Saria, my best friend. Saria, this is Navi, my fairy." The two girls look each other up and down, and smile.

"This is great news, Link! We have to have a celebration!" I grin at her, but it slowly falls off my face as I remember what Navi said.

"That would be great, Saria, but I'm busy right now. The Deku Tree wants me." Saria blinks, as if she can't quite believe me.

"He does? Then you shouldn't keep him waiting. Oh, I have a present for you." She holds out a small pouch, with my name and the weird triangle thing that's on my hand carved into it. "It's a special holding pouch. It will hold anything you put in it, no matter how large or small. I made it myself." I take it from her, holding it gingerly in my hands.

"Thank you so much, Saria. It means a lot to me." Saria grinned, then leaned forward and hugged me.

"Happy birthday, Link. You are now officially 11 years old!" I smile at her, then hook the pouch over the back of my belt and head off toward the Deku Tree's meadow. Could this birthday get any better? First, a fairy finally comes to me. Then, I get called to see the Deku Tree, one of my closest friends. And, Saria gives me a fantastic birthday present! Could anything possibly make this day go wrong?

"Hey! You!"

Oh. Scratch that. There is one thing . . .

"Stop right there! No one is allowed into the Great Deku Tree's meadow!" I look up, a scowl etching itself onto my face as I recognize the voice. It was Mido.

"I have to get in there, Mido. The Deku Tree requested me." Mido's face changed from a dark scowl to an astonished look.

"No way! Why would he call you and not the Great Mido? You're already Saria's best friend; now you get the Great Deku Tree too? No fair! Well, it doesn't matter. No one gets in the meadow without the proper equipment. Like a sword and a shield."

I give him a dark and impatient glare. "What about you? Where's _your_ equipment?" He bristled at me for a moment, trying to come up with an answer.

"Its cause . . . I, uh . . . I'm not in the meadow! I'm just protecting the Great Deku Tree!" I sigh, knowing he's not gonna give up, even though I know he came up with that particular requirement on the fly, just to tick me off.

_It's not my fault no one likes him! Saria and I have been friends my whole life. It's not like I deliberately became her friend just to piss Mido off!_

"Come on. It doesn't look like he's gonna back down," Navi whispered in my ear. I nod, then turn around and stalk off.

_He'll see! _I tell myself._ I'm going to find a sword and a shield, and when he sees me with both of them and a fairy, he'll fall over backward! _

"So, where are we going?" I look at my shoulder to see Navi has her head cocked to the side.

"First, we're going to buy a shield. They sell them at the shop, but they're really expensive. It's gonna wipe out my funds." Navi nods.

"And after that? Where are we going to find a sword?" I shrug.

"I dunno. We'll ask around after we buy the shield, see what people have to say." We fell silent for the final few steps to the shop, when one of my friends noticed the blue thing sitting on my shoulder.

"Hey Link! You finally got a fairy!" She shouted. She was sitting on top of the shop, like she always did. I wave at her, then duck into the shop before she can say anything else. The owner of the shop is bouncing behind the counter so he can see over it. He was one of the older Kokiri, and as a result, was much shorter then everyone else.

"Yes? Can I help you?" He asked.

"Yeah, I'd like to buy a Deku shield."

"Ok." He pulls the shield off the shelf and checks the price tag. "That'll be 40 rupees, please." I sigh, and dig around in my wallet to find the only two red ones I have. I flick them onto the counter, scoop the shield up onto my back, and walk out the door.

"See? I told you. Now I barely have 20 rupees left!" I complain. Navi snorts, and flies ahead of me.

"So? It's not that hard to find them, you know. Run through some grass. Now, where would you suggest we start looking for a sword?" I think for a moment before answering.

"Why don't we try the Know-It-All Brothers? They might have an idea or two." Navi nods in agreement, and we set off for the other side of the village.

I poke my head into the KIA Brothers house. "Hey, guys. Would any of you know where I might find a sword?"

One of the brothers shrugged. "Try the training field outside. You never know what you'll find there."

"Great! Thanks," I call, already out the door. The training field is right next to the KIA Brothers house. Instead of making my way around all the fences, I simply leap over all of them until I find myself facing a wall with a small hole in it.

I look at Navi and she looks at me. We both shrug in unison. I turn back to the wall, crouch down, and enter the hole. It's not very long; I would guess 10 or 15 feet. I crawl all the way to the other side, and pop out in a corridor of dirt. I move forward cautiously through the grass, and promptly leap backwards with a yelp of surprise as a huge boulder rolls past.

"What the heck?!" I cry. "Why is there a _boulder_ rolling around here? That's dangerous!!" Navi finishes picking herself off the ground and straightening her tunic and breeches before she answers me.

"I don't know, but I've got this weird feeling that we're going to see things a lot more dangerous than a rolling boulder. Now come on. If we wait for it to come around again, we can follow behind it and not risk getting squished." I nod in understanding, and stand up myself.

We wait for the boulder to come by, and when it passes us we start after it. I follow it around several corners, then come to an intersection where the boulder rolls one way, leaving the other open. I head that way, and come upon a large chest. Luckily, it doesn't require a key, so I push up the lid and reach inside.

"Wow. That Know-It-All Brother was right. You never know what you'll find in here," I mutter. Navi just stares at my hand without making a comment, because in my hand I hold the Kokiri Sword, which is something of a legend among us Kokiri.

****

"Hey, Mido!" I shout. Mido looks up and cracks a slight, but evil, grin.

"I told you, you can't get in without the proper equipme—huh? Is that a fairy?" I cross my arms in my usual cocky gesture, and I can't stop a smug grin from plastering itself on my face.

"Yes, it is. Notice anything else, Mido?" Mido looks at me hard, and his mouth drops open in astonishment.

"You have a shield? And a _sword_?!?" I nod.

"Boy and you thought you could keep me out of the Deku Tree's meadow. You wanna let me by now, or are you going to come up with some other lame excuse?" He gaps at me for another minute, then grumbles something about me being a jerk before he moves to the side of the opening.

_Please! Me, a jerk? I treat him exactly the way he treats me. I wish I was courageous enough to deck the guy, but I'm quite not there yet. Maybe after I talk to the Deku Tree . . . _

I walk past him, round a corner, and find myself face-to-face with a monster I've never seen before.

"Quick, Link! Your sword!" Navi shouts as she turns bright yellow and flies around the things head. "It's called a Deku Baba! It only takes a hit or two to kill it!" I only stop for a moment, and then Navi's words register. Before I knew it, my sword and shield were off my back and in my hands. A quick slash and the first one was down. A jump attack silenced the other.

As they both began to wither and die, I notice that they are leaving behind some interesting items. I look at them both, and discover one is a Deku Stick, and the other is a pile of Deku Nuts.

"Nice!" I tell Navi. "Nothing makes a better cover for a quick getaway like the flash from a Deku Nut!" I scoop all of the items into the pouch Saria had just given me. It will be quite handy for anything I need to carry. With those Deku Baba things out of the way, we had a clear shot straight to the Great Deku Tree's meadow. I dash forward, but Navi is even faster.

"Oh Navi, thou hast returned!" says the Deku Tree. "Thank you, Link, for coming. Thy slumber these past moons must have been restless, and full of nightmares. A vile climate pervades this world. Verily, ye have felt it. The time has come to test thine courage. I have been cursed. I need you to dispel the curse with your wisdom and courage. Art thou prepared?"

I am more than a little shocked by the speech just given. I think about saying no, but that nagging little voice in the back of my head tells me to help him out. He _is_ the protector of the entire forest, after all. I look at Navi and see a confusion of emotion on her face. Worry, apprehension, hope, and finally, resolve.

"I want to help him, Link." She says simply.

How can I refuse my fairy? Heck, how can I refuse this force inside of me that seems drawn to the Deku Tree? I look back over at the Deku Tree, and remember all the talks I've ever had with him. He always helped me when I was lonely, upset, angry at Mido, or just plain confused. Now, it was my turn to help him.

"Yes, Great Deku Tree. I am prepared.


	3. Chapter 2

Hey all! Sorry for the huge wait on this chapter; what with a crazy family, school, and finals, it has been all I can do to get homework in on time, let alone find five minutes to write! Anyway, I recently scraped together the time (Yes, I realize that I just said I don't have any time. I don't. Purely luck I got to read it) to read the manga version of OoT-the one by Himekawa Akira-and it inspired me to change my story. Just a little bit, mind! So any of the similarities you find between the two, please give all the credit to Akira-sensi!

~-~Firebird~-~

**Chapter 2**

The bark on the Deku Tree begins to move. I take a deep breath to strengthen my courage, and step forward.

"Gosh! I never knew the Deku Tree was like this!" Navi exclaims, flying forward into the huge cavernous space.

"Hmm. Me neither," I reply. I glance around, looking for anything that was out of the ordinary.

"Link! Come look!" Navi cries. I dash over to her, and find her hovering over a large chest. "Open it! Let's see what's inside!"

I brace myself, then lean all my weight on the lid to push it backwards. The chest is as tall as I am, so I have to lean in over the side to reach the bottom. At first is seems that there is nothing in the chest, but I sweep my hand over the bottom to make sure. My hand brushes something hard and wooden in the corner. I grasp it before standing back up straight.

"Oh, wow! It's a slingshot!" I gasp. "I haven't ever seen one of these before!"

"Then how on earth did you know what it is?" Navi demanded of me, flying in excited circles around my head.

"Stories," I replied, turning the slingshot over and over in my hands as I thought about my memories. "The Great Deku Tree would tell me stories about heroes and lands beyond the forest . . . I used to imagine myself as those heroes, fighting to save the girl and restore peace to the land." I laughed slightly. "Saria and I used to play out the stories with each other." I inhaled deeply, pulling myself out of the past and back into the present.

"That's really sweet, Link." Navi tells me before settling on my shoulder. I double check the chest to find a bag of deku seeds for the slingshot, then head off in the opposite direction.

"So what are we supposed to be looking for, again?" I ask Navi. "It's really hard to see in here, you know." Navi shrugs at me.

"I don't know. All the Deku Tree said was that he had been cursed . . . maybe there's something in here we can destroy to break it?"

"Yeah? Like what?"

"Oh, I don't know . . . maybe a monster?" I stop short as a sudden feeling of dread overwhelms me.

"I think you just hit the nail on the head, Navi," I tell her. I glance upwards slowly, because that's where I can feel the evilness. I stumble backwards in shock, for there sits a humongous spider, hanging from the ceiling!

I stare at it dumbfounded. _How in all hells am I supposed to kill that thing?!?_ "Please, help me Goddesses!" I mutter. Navi finally gets over her shock and turns yellow, her fighting color. She flies up and follows the spider, making it much easier for me to track.

"Pay close attention, Link! Maybe there's a way for you to knock her off the ceiling!" Just as Navi gives me this unhelpful bit of advice, the spider opens one enormous yellow and red eye!

"Oh my goddess! It's Gohma, Link! I thought she was just a legend!" Navi cuts herself off as she starts to dodge the vicious spider. Gohma shakes herself, and weird white ropy things begin to drop to the floor. One close to me hatches into a mini-Gohma! I jump on it with my sword, and dash around to all the other ones before they have a chance to hatch.

"Link, move!" Navi shouts. I notice a shadow covering me, so I start to run. I can see the edge of the shadow, so I dive and roll out of the way just as Gohma falls to the ground, shaking the place like an earthquake. Before I have a chance to recover, she jumps and grips the ceiling once more.

"Navi, does that legend happen to say anything about her weakness?" I cry while killing more of her eggs.

"I'm trying to remember! It was a long time ago!"

_Oh, great._

"Wait! I've got it! You need to hit her eye! That will make her lose balance and drop to the floor!" I whip out my slingshot, place a seed in the holder, aim, and let it fly, all in one fluid movement. My aim is true, and it hits her smack in the middle of that freaky eye.

A horrible screech rips through the air, and she falls in what seems to be slow motion all the way to the ground.

I dash forward, and before I can change my mind, I pull my sword from its sheath and use my jump attack to stab the sword into her, right behind her eye. One last screech rends the air as Gohma breathes her last.

"Link! Get off of her now!" Navi shouts at me. I tug on my sword, trying to pull the damn thing loose. "Link!"

"I'm trying, dammit! Just hold you horses!" I shout back at her as I try desperately to retrieve my sword. Something under my foot shifts, and I fall to the ground in a heap as Gohma collapses in black powdery dust. I blink, trying to force the dust out of my eyes. I turn slightly to see a bright green light shining at the top of the cavern before everything fades to black.

****

"Link! Link, are you alright? Link, answer me!" My eyes flutter open to find a blue light hovering in front of my face.

"Ah!" I shout, as I try to scramble backwards. I barely pull myself a foot back before a sharp pain in my side blocks all coherent thought.

"Navi! I thought we agreed that you would stay back while I treated him!" A female voice shouts. My eyes focus in on Navi, fluttering forward to me.

"Oh, Link, I'm so glad you're OK! I don't know what I would have done if . . . if . . ." Words fail her, so she flutters to my chest and hangs on to my shirt, crying. I reach one hand up to hold her.

"I'm alright Navi. I'm alright." I wince as my side twinges. "Mostly, at any rate."

"Link, will you please lie down and be still? You broke a few ribs in the fall, and I'm trying to mend them for you." I look to my right to see who is addressing me, and my mouth falls open in shock.

"Saria?!? What on earth are you doing in here-" My voice cuts itself off as I realize I'm in inside the Great Deku Tree anymore. Somehow, I was outside, lying in the meadow. "Okaaay, never mind. What on earth am _I _doing out here?" She giggles at me.

"Navi came to get me when you fell. I came and moved you out here, so I could help. Like I said, you broke several ribs, and I'm trying to fix them." I blink, thrown for a loop.

"Um, how do you plan to do that? I didn't think you knew anything about healing." I ask her. She laughs at me. Again.

"Silly! I'm not the one actually healing you; the fairy spirit is. I just need you to be still so she heals the right spot. I glance down, and notice for the first time that the bottle in her hand holds a pink fairy spirit.

"Saria, I can't ask you to do that. You should keep it in case you ever need it. I know how rare they are." I tell her, trying not to groan at the thought of dealing with broken ribs. It was bad enough when I broke my arm falling out of my house last year!

"No, Link. Allow Saria to heal you. I have many things to tell you, and not much time in which to do so," the Great Deku Tree tells me. At this point, it's better for me to just shut up and go with it. So, I let Saria bend over my side again. I take a deep breath to steady myself and instantly regret it. Instead, I focus on holding Navi while she calms down.

"There!" Saria mutters. I look down to see that she had up-ended to bottle on my side, and was using it to hold the fairy spirit right where it hurt the most. I sigh in relief as the spirit goes to work.

"That feels wonderful, Saria. Thank you so much," I tell her. Her face lights up in my favorite face-splitting grin at the complement.

"You are most welcome. Now, try not to move for a few minutes. I'm sure the spirit did a good job, but I know how you are. You're more likely to hurt yourself again if you don't take it easy for a day. Stay right there and listen to the Deku Tree. I need to run back to my house and grab something." With that, she jumps up and bounds away.

"Link . . . I have much to tell you." I glance up to look at the Deku Tree. An involuntary gasp escapes as I take in his sickly color.

"Great Deku Tree! What happened?" I cry, fighting the urge to jump up and run to him.

"It was the curse, Link. Although you defeated Gohma, I was already beyond help. Link . . . an evil man from the desert is who cursed me . . . he came looking for the Spiritual Stone, which I now entrust to you." As he spoke, a brilliant green light dropped from his branches. I automatically stick out my hand as it falls, expecting it to smack me. Instead, it slows down as if it can see me, and hovers just above my outstretched hand.

"This is . . . the Spiritual Stone of the Forest . . . the Kokiri Emerald. Do you . . . remember . . . the story of . . . the three Goddesses?" I nod, and I notice that my vision has become slightly blurry. I wipe my eyes, and my hand falls away wet.

"The three Goddesses are Din, Nayru, and Farore. Din used her strong flaming arms to create the earth. Nayru poured her wisdom into the land to create the law. Farore, with her rich soul, created the life that upholds the law," I recite diligently. The Deku Tree had told me this story hundreds of times; it's one of my favorites. "Then, with their work complete, they ascended back to their heavens. And . . . and . . ." I stumble, trying to remember the rest. I always seemed to zone when he got to this part.

"And in the place where they left our world, they left small fragments of their power, which became the Triforce," Navi said. "The place where the Triforce rests became known as the Sacred Realm." I nod as she finishes. That was the part I always forgot.

"That is . . . the story . . . you must always remember. Take the stone . . . and seek out Princess Zelda . . . you are . . . the worlds only . . . hope, Link. Stop the . . . evil desert man . . . . " His voice fades out, finally drifting into silence. I bow my head over Navi, and let the tears I had been holding in fall over. She leans against me as she begins to weep.

Those are the last words the Deku Tree ever spoke.


	4. Chapter 3 and short interludes

Hello!

Sorry about the wait. Again. It was just so hard to find inspiration for this chapter. And I'm sorry about the end. It's kind of confusing, I know, but I needed to pass a lot of time quickly, and that was the best way to do it. If anyone thinks of something better, let me know!

~~Firebird~~

**Chapter 3**

I sniff as I slowly tuck the Emerald into my pouch.

"Come on Navi. We need to go." I said, bending my head over my distressed fairy.

"O-okay, Link." She responds, her voice shaky. "I just . . . I haven't ever thought about what to do when . . . when the Deku Tree . . ." She stops, shaking her head to show me that she can't continue.

"I know, Navi. I never thought about it either," I tell her as softly as I can. "But he told us what we need to do. And finding the Princess feels right!" I say, my voice ringing with decisiveness. Navi looks up at my tone, and nods slowly.

"You know what . . . it does feel right! Like this is what we're meant to do!" She agrees. She stands up and shakes her tunic out. "Come on, then, Link! We need to find the Princess. And the first step for that is to leave the forest. Oh!" She exclaims.

"What? Is something wrong?" I question her.

"Well . . . won't you die if we leave?" She says reluctantly. I take a deep breath and release it slowly before I respond.

"I don't know, Navi. This feels like what I'm supposed to do. And to be honest, I've never felt like I'm a Kokiri. There's always been something missing. And I think I might find it if I leave." My eyes drift away from her, and I find myself staring off into the distance. I give myself a little shake to clear my head.

"Well, it doesn't matter. We need to leave because the Deku Tree told us too. Come on," I beckon her as I turn and walk out of the meadow. I find Mido waiting with the rest off the Kokiri just outside the meadow entrance.

"What the heck happened?" Mido demands. "We all felt this horrible disturbance . . ." His voice trails off into silence as my long face registers.

"The Deku Tree died," I tell them, regretting each syllable. Shock, bewilderment, anger, and finally sadness cross each of their faces. Mido recovers first.

"What did you do?!" He shrieks, taking a step forward to grab me by the front of my tunic. "You were the last one to see him alive! What did you do?!?" He starts shaking me, as if he can force an answer from my throat. I grab both his hands and twist, forcing him to let me go. I back away from them all slowly, watching their faces as they all begin to suspect me.

"Link didn't do a thing!" Navi cries from my shoulder. "It was the Deku Tree's time to leave!" Mido shakes his head as he listens to her.

"No! It can't have been his time. That means Link had something to do with this! That means that Link killed him!" He cries in a wild voice. He launches himself at me with an animal-like scream ripping from his throat. I quickly duck out of the way, and dash through the mob of people that had once been my friends. I make a bee-line straight for the tunnel out of the Woods. The Woods I had known all my life. The Woods that I might never see again.

I pause only once, at the mouth of the tunnel, and look back. I can see Mido on the ground where I had been standing, tears streaming down his cheeks. I turn around and keep going, resolving to never look back.

* * * * * *

_huff . . . huff . . . huff_

"Link? Are you all right?" I whip around at the voice and I see Saria standing at the other end of the bridge. Despite my resolve, I still hadn't managed to cross the last threshold out of the forest.

"I'm-I'm fine Saria. Why are you here?" I ask. She looks at me with incredibly sad eyes.

"Somehow . . . somehow I always knew you were going to leave the forest. I felt it, from the first moment I met you." She tells me, eyes big and round. She clutches something close to her chest before holding it out to me.

"And I want you to have this. Take it with you." I reach out and she hands me a beautifully carved wooden ocarina. I had seen this memento among her belongings before.

"I can't take this, Saria. It's yours."

"I know. That's why I want you to have it. I feel you're going to need it. And whenever you use it, Link, I want you to think of me and the forest. So you don't ever forget." I nod once. I begin to move backwards slowly, unwillingly to tear my eyes from my one true friend. I open my mouth to say something, but my mind goes blank. What can I say to the one person who is always there? The one person that makes me smile?

I turn my head and begin to run. I hear Saria fall to her knees behind me, but I know there is nothing I can do. I stretch my stride, and I don't stop.

* * * * * *

**Interlude**

"Um . . . Ms. Jen, you never told us where we were going," Le mentions from the back of the wagon.

"Yes, I know. We are going somewhere remote." Jen answers before pulling hard on the reigns to make the horses turn.

"K. Why?" Jaz asks. Jen turns and frowns at her.

"Because I said so, that's why!" Jaz sits up to stare at Jen quizzically. She almost immediately turns green.

"Oh, lay back down, you dumb idiot. You do realize you'll never do anything worth while if you can't ride in something with wheels, right?" Jen snaps before returning her attention to the road.

"Yeah, I know," Jaz mutters as she lies back down. "I'd rather walk, anyway." She closes her eyes and drifts off to sleep.

"Ms. Jen?"

"You can call me Jen, Leyan. I promise I don't bite. Normally." Le grins at Jen's sarcastic tone.

"Well . . . why exactly did Ms. Impa seem so freaked out when Jaz talked about her dream? Ms. Impa kept going on about how Princess Zelda had meddled, and how she had changed something she was never supposed to change. What did she mean?" Jen sits silently for a moment, and then motions for Le to join her in the front.

"I-I don't know what to tell you. I only know the very end of the story, which Impa told me before we left. I don't remember either, you see." Le shakes his head.

"No, I don't see. That's why I'm asking." He tells her plaintively.

"_sigh._ I know. It's going to be hard to explain." She stares off into the distance for a few moments. "You remember the boy Jaz saw in her dream?" She waits for Le to nod before she continues. "Well, his name is Link. And not so long ago, he saved Hyrule. But . . . I guess something happened with him and Zelda, so she tried to send him back to before anything had happened. I don't know how or why. But she messed something up when she did. That's why Jazmyn is here." She glances at Le to find him even more confused.

"Have you ever noticed how Jazmyn seems to have a little of every race in Hyrule in her? Her strength, grace, stubbornness, innocence, even the way she looks. It all connects to one race or another." At this, Le nods. He had noticed the odd similarities as they wandered. Some had stood out, like her stubbornness, while others might take a while to come out in full force.

Like her grace.

"Well, Impa and I believe that she is meant to save us again, because something else stood in the way the first time Link tried. I . . . I really think that she is supposed to be our next savior. Now don't you go telling her I said that!" She says with a mock growl. Le laughs.

"Ok. I think I understand know. Most of it, at any rate. But why do we have to leave?" Le asks in a quite voice. Jen snorts.

"Two reasons; one, to train her, and to train you. You both have a long way to go. And two, well, you'll figure that one out when you get older. More of this will make sense then." Jen grins at Le, who sighs with resentment.

"I can tell you this. We're going to a place where the mountains meet the desert. See if you can figure it out from there. Now, get back in the cart. I don't want you getting sunburned. There'll be plenty of time for that later." Le nods in agreement, and crawls back to lie down next to Jaz. He doesn't see Jen bite her lip in concern.

**End Interlude**

* * * * * *

"Link. Link, you need to look up. There's something in the tree." I look down at Navi, who has decided to ride my shoulder.

"What? What could be up there?" I turn my head to look and find myself staring at a giant owl.

And I mean _giant_.

It cocks its head back at me, its freakishly large eyebrows moving in a human-like quizzical fashion.

"Hellooo, Link." It says, in a loud voice. "Hoo, My name is Keapora Geabora, hoo hoo."

"Umm. Hi." I say, more than a little freaked out. I mean, come on. A giant talking owl? Since when?

"Heading to Hyrule Castle, are yooooou? Better move quick, hoo hooot. Don't want to be caught on the field after sunset, hoot." With that, the giant owl took flight and went off over the field.

"Hmm," Navi says. "I've got a funny feeling that we're not gonna like being caught on the field after sunset."

"Really?" I ask sarcastically. "Why ever would you think that?" Navi snorts at me, and I resume my trot. I finally broke out of the last stand of trees, and got my first true look at Hyrule Field.

Oh boy, is it _huge_!

I gape at the sheer immensity of the field. How did anyone ever find their way across it? I'm just about to ask Navi what we should do when I spot a dirt road about five feet in front of me. No harm in following it, right?

I resume my steady trot forward, looking all about me as I take in a new world. While growing up, I was always within ten feet of a tree. Always. I almost never saw the sky without a canopy obscuring the view. I grew up around green.

And now, suddenly, I get to see all these different colors and shapes! Browns, blues, yellows, reds . . . all beautiful. I notice that the dirt road takes a sharp turn right ahead, and I'm just about to follow it when I feel a sudden tug.

"Navi, why are you pulling on me?" I ask crossly. What is up with this fairy?

"What? I'm still on your shoulder, idiot!" I glance at my shoulder and do a double take as I realize she _is_ still there.

"So, what just tugged me?" I stop in confusion. "Ah! Again! What the heck is going on here?" Navi launches herself from my shoulder and flies about me in quick circles.

"There's nothing here, Link. Are you sure you're not imagining things?" Navi smirks.

"Darn straight I'm sure! There is something going on." I snap. I close my eyes and take a few deep breaths. Saria was always going on about my temper.

As I breathe, I notice that the tug is growing stronger. I move forward blindly, following the direction of the tug. I don't even open my eyes as my walk turns into a flat out run.

"Link! Link, what are you doing?! You're not even on the road anymore!" Navi shouts in my ear as she keeps up with me.

"I don't know. Now shush. I don't want to lose it."

"Lose what?" She cries in exasperation. I wave her off and continue running. I can feel the change in the terrain under my feet; I can feel the slopes, the rocks, and the change from grass to bare dirt.

I run for a least ten minutes straight. Normally I could ever even hope to run for that long, but the same thing that was pulling me along seemed to be lending me strength. Finally, out of breath and with a stitch in my side, I slow down to a halt. I slowly open my eyes and straighten up to look around me. And guess what? There's this smackin' big castle not a hundred strides from where I'm standing!

"Whoa," I manage, still gasping for air.

"Gee, I would think that the Princess lives there. Wouldn't you?" Navi asks. I nod, and move forward at a very slow walk. I manage to stumble up to and over the drawbridge, and I find myself in a stone courtyard. I notice a guard out of the corner of my eye, but he doesn't try to stop me as I move forward. I cross the yard into the very center of Market Square. I gape at all the hustle and bustle around me. I'd never seen anything like this!

"Dad! You promised that we would be in and out! You said you wouldn't fall asleep again!" I turn at the shout and discover a young red head, about my age, holding a man by the ear as she drags him along. The man-her father?-is stumbling because he's bent over nearly double.

"Go on; go sell the last of the milk. But if it's spoiled, it's your own fault!" The red head tells him sternly before shoving him in the direction of the stalls. She shakes her head as she watches him barter with the other shop owners. She turns around and stops, looking straight at me. She stares for a moment, then comes charging straight at me. I instinctively flinch, but she stops just short of bowling me over.

"Hey, is that a fairy?" She asks, wonder in her voice. She reaches out a hand hesitantly. I look at Navi, and without waiting for her approval, scoop her up and dump her in the girl's hand.

"Yes. Her name is Navi." I say as a smug smile spreads across my face.

"Link, I am going to kill you!" Navi shouts from the girl's hand. I make a face.

"Aww, why? I'm sure that the pretty girl won't hurt you," I tease.

"Malon. My name is Malon, Fairy Boy." Malon giggles.

"Oh? Well, mine's Link. The bundle of feisty you're holding in your hand is my fairy."

"That means your from the forest, doesn't it?!" Malon gasps. "I've never met anyone from the forest before!"

"Well, I've never met anyone from the Market before, so we're even." I joke.

"Oh, I'm not from the Market. My father owns and operates Lon Lon Ranch. You should stop by some time! I would love to introduce you to some of my horses." She smiles as she places Navi back on my shoulder.

"Sure! I'll stop by sometime. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have somewhere I need to be . . ." I tell her as I jog up the path. She waves.

"Good bye, Fairy Boy! It was nice to meet you!" She shouts. I shake my head and keep going.

"Well. Was it worth it to see the 'pretty girl' smile at you?" Navi snaps. I laugh.

"Yep! Oh, come on. She just looked at you! It was harmless!"

"You look with your eyes, not your hands, thank you." Navi sniffs. "Whoa! Warn me next time you stop suddenly!" She exclaims while she tries to steady herself. I ignore her, because I'm concentrating on the wall in front of me. It's covered in vines, and if I'm not mistaken . . .

The wall should run all the way to the gate.

Past the gate, even.

I reach out and grasp the vines, and I start climbing. I pull myself all the way to the wall, and I gasp at the sight before me. There sits Hyrule Castle, glowing almost blood-red in the sunset. It seems . . . so familiar . . .

But that's crazy. I've never been here before. Have I?

"Link? What's wrong?" Navi asks.

"Nothing." I reply. I start forward, and I see that my hunch is correct. The wall runs all the way to gate. From there I can hit the ground and avoid all the guards. Which is exactly what I do. I avoid the path and work my way over the field as the sun sets and night closes above me. I find myself in front of a stone wall, passable only because there are stone like steps cut into it. I climb up and over, and I discover a pathway and a moat. I look to the left and see two guards not ten feet from me, so I duck forward and jump into the moat.

The moat has a current, which pulls me around the side of the castle. I pull myself out and look around.

"Wow. That was quite impressive, Link. I thought you've never been here." Navi comments.

"I've _never_ been here. Don't ask me why, but it feels familiar." I shrug and spot my way into the castle. On the other side of the moat there is a drainage hole. It's barely big enough for me, but beggars can't be choosers, right?

I leap over the moat and barely manage to keep my balance on the small ledge. I crouch down and crawl through the hole. I emerge into a garden on the other side. I stay low, trying to stay out of sight. I move forward stealthily, to avoid guards. After I peek around the corner, I straighten in confusion.

"Something's not right," I whisper.

"What?"

"There aren't any guards."

"Maybe they're on break?" Navi suggests.

"No . . . I feel like there are supposed to be guards here. So where are they?"

"It doesn't matter. Come on, we have to be close!" Navi whispers urgently. I move forward against my better judgment, and quickly wind my way through the gardens. I cautiously make my way through one more maze of hedges, and I discover a stone pathway leading to a courtyard. I peek through and see a young girl in white and purple standing at a window. It's hard to make out anything else because it's still dark. While it is getting lighter, the sun was still and hour or so away. I start forward, convinced that this is Zelda. Suddenly something grabs me from behind and presses a cloth to my mouth. I fight for a moment before my limbs become too heavy to lift. The last thing I see is a slender hand extending from a purple sleeve to catch Navi by the wings.

* * * * * *

"Link. You need to wake up, Link." I groan. I try to roll over, but I'm having difficulty moving. "Here." I feel hands on my back, lifting me into a sitting position. I open my eyes and find myself outside.

"Where am I?" I mutter, not really expecting an answer.

"Hyrule Field. I'm sorry; I know you wanted to speak with the princess, but I'm afraid that is impossible right now." Someone holds a water skin to my lips and I drink greedily. As I drink, my thoughts clear and I remember what happened. I bolt to a standing position, and whip out my sword and shield as I turn to face the person behind me. I find a grown woman, with white hair, red eyes, and purple, white, and blue clothing crouching next to were I had been sitting. She tucks the water skin away and stands up to face me.

"My name is Impa, Link. I am a Sheikah, and I am Zelda's guardian. Now, I know you have one of the Spiritual Stones." I blink, not quite certain how she knows this. "You need to find the other two. The next is located on Death Mountain, in the hands of the Gorons. If you head to my village, Kakariko, you will be able to access the mountains. Find the other two Stones, and then bring them to the Temple of Time. It is imperative you do this, Link. The future of Hyrule rests in your hands." She takes a few steps backwards, and then throws something on the ground. A bright flash blinds me for a few seconds, and when my vision clears I discover that Impa is gone.

I out my sword away, then turn in place to get my bearings.

"Navi!" I shout. "Where are you?"

"Under you hat, dimwit." She replies as she wiggles her way out. "That stupid Sheikah stuck me under there." I help her down to my shoulder.

"Well, I'm not sure where Kakariko is, but I think that's Lon Lon Ranch. Why don't we go see Malon?" I suggest. Navi shrugs.

"Whatever," She replies. I set off for Lon Lon, not far from where we're standing. I enter the gates, pass all the buildings (probably the barn and house) and head into the corral. I check around, and there's Malon, in the middle of the corral. I head over, waving. She waves back, excited.

"Hiya, Fairy Boy!" She exclaims.

"Hi."

"I'm so glad you came. Don't you just love all the horses?" I nod, fascinated. I'd never seen a horse before. "Oh! Look, here's Epona!" I turn to look, but as soon as the foal sees me, she runs away. "Oh, I'm sorry Fairy Boy. I guess she doesn't like you." I stare after Epona. I feel the same tug I'd felt on Hyrule field. I slowly pull out my ocarina.

"Oooh! That's an ocarina! I know! Why don't you play while I sing?" Malon begins to hum, but she doesn't hit more than two notes before I begin playing the same thing. She falters as I play, and as I finish the song, Epona come bounding back to me. She nuzzles me, and I begin to pet her face.

"Hi, Epona." I whisper. "Long time no see." I shake my head. Why did I say that? I'd never met the horse before. I give her one last pat. "Well, it's great to meet the horses, but I actually have a favor to ask. Could you point me to Kakariko Village? I ask.

"Sure!" Malon beams. "My dad is taking the next shipment of milk there tomorrow. Why don't you tag along with him?" I nod.

"Perfect."

* * * * * *

**Interlude**

"Rise and shine, beauties!" Jen says as she threw back the curtains. Not that the sun was up far enough to give off any light. Le and Jaz stumble out of bed.

"Today, you begin your training. We'll start with a mile run, then a weapons training. Probably just to teach you all the weapons. Then stretches, and a two hour work out." Jaz looks up.

"That's it? For the whole day?" She asks. Jen throws back her head and laughs.

"No, honey," She says as she wipes tears from her eyes. "That's just before breakfast. Now get moving!"

* * * * * *

"Oh . . . my . . . goddesses!" Jazmyn exclaims. "She's going to kill us!" She plops herself down at the table and starts wolfing her breakfast.

"Well, we kinda asked for it," Le points out.

"True." Jaz agrees. "Well, we better fortify ourselves. She did say it was going to be hard. By the way, did she say anything to you on the way here? Like, maybe why we have to do this?"

"Well, kinda. All I really know is that this is really important. Come on, she told us to finish quickly." Le returns to stuffing food in his face. Jaz watches him a moment more, then turns back to her food. She knows him well enough to know when he was hiding something, but she also knows that he would tell her in his own time. For now, she decides to concentrate on surviving the rest of the day.

**End Interlude**

* * * * * *

_huff . . . huff . . . huff . . ._

I stumble out of Dodongo's Cavern, covered in soot and exhausted. I fall flat on the ground, happy to be still for a few moments. Stupid giant lizard! I can't believe that the only way to kill that darn thing was to chuck bombs down its throat! I hear a large thud incredibly close behind me, and I jump up. I find myself face to face with Darunia.

"Thank you, Brother! You defeated Dodongo and open the Cavern once more! To thank you for your service, I wish for you to become my Sworn Brother! Oh, don't worry. It doesn't require a ceremony. I just need to give you something to show our friend ship." He pulls out the Goron's Ruby-I really don't want to know where he kept it-and gives it to me. "Now we are Sworn Brothers!" Darunia leans forward and nearly crushes me in a hug.

"Thank you!" I gasp. He lets me go.

"I hope to see you again some day, Link!" I wave good bye as I head down the path.

"Now, didn't one of the Villagers say something about another Stone being held by the Zoras?" Navi asks.

"Yep," I reply wearily. "But I need to rest. Let's find somewhere to spend the night."

* * * * * *

**Interlude**

"Get up, get up! Come on Jaz, Jen's gonna kill us!" Le exclaims. He pulls on his clothing and hurriedly helps Jaz with hers. "We have to get out to the track!" Jaz follows him blindly, still trying to wake up. She reflects that the training complex they're at is incredible. There are barracks, a track, an armory, gyms, a cafeteria and an archery range. Jen had already explained that this used to be a training center for the army. To the west there stands tall mountains; to the east, a vast desert. It was sweltering hot on the best of days, and blistering on the rest. Jaz was already adjusting to the climate. Le was struggling a bit, but working his hardest to stay caught up.

They reach the track just as Jen steps out onto the dirt.

"Good! You're here. Go ahead; another mile. And this time, try to do it in less than eleven minutes." Jaz and Le took off, not wasting breath on a reply. Jen smiles as she watches them. It was hard on them, and she knows it, but she also knows that they will survive. And be stronger for it.

The next two days pass in a similar method. Jaz and Le improve, and grow stronger each day. They begin hand-to-hand combat training, and they both improve their mile runs to fewer than ten minutes.

**End Interlude**

* * * * * *

"Waaahhhh!" I cry as I fly through the air. I land in the water, with Ruto not a few feet from me. I break through the surface, and sputter, disoriented. Jaba-Jaba had just spit the two of us out after I killed that stupid electric thingy. It was bad enough using a boomerang, but getting shocked every time I touched to darn thing didn't help at all! I turn to find Ruto staring at me with big eyes.

"Thank you for helping me!" She beams. Then her expression darkens. "But how dare you follow me like that! I had everything under control until you came into the picture!" I shake my head and ignore her. She is really stuck up, even for a princess. "But . . . well, I suppose I should give you something for helping me. The Zora's Sapphire would be fitting. My mom told me to give it to the person who was going to marry me. She called it my engagement ring." Ruto giggles. "But you can have it." She hands it over to me, and I sigh in relief. I had all three stones now!

"Oh, but . . . don't tell my father."

* * * * * *

I shake my head and jog determinedly for the town. _What's with that dark cloud?_ I worry. I push the thought aside and jog faster. I stop when I see the drawbridge slowly dropping. As soon as it hits the ground, a white horse bearing two riders flies past me. I turn just as the little girl on the back throws something into the moat. I hear another sound behind me, so I turn and find myself facing a black horse.

_Oh, no._ I think. _It's just like that dream . . . _

The man laughs, and asks me which way the white horse went. I reply by pulling my sword. He laughs again, and shoots a ball of black at me. I fly through the air while he thunders in the other direction.

As soon as he's gone, I dive into the moat. I surface holding a blue ocarina. I climb out to look at it better. When I put it to my lips, the world around me seems to dissolve. I find my self in a temple of some sort. The girl from the castle is standing in front of the altar. She turns to face me.

She is absolutely stunning.

"Link, my name is Zelda. I don't have long, so you must listen. Come to the Temple of Time. Place the stones on this altar, and then play this song." She hums the melody for me, and I play it back flawlessly. "The Door of Time will open. You must do this quickly, Link! I'm counting on you!" With that, the vision fades. I find myself outside Castle Town. It's now the middle of the day, and the dark cloud is gone.

"Woah! What was that?" I mutter to my self as I get up.

"Hmm? You looked zoned for a minute there, Link." Navi comments.

"Yeah . . . come on, we're going to the Temple of Time." I brush the dust off and head for town. I don't really feel like moving, but Zelda was a little insistent. Wait. Zelda?! How the hell did she contact me like that?

"The Temple of Time? How come, Link?" Navi questions as she flutters about my head annoyingly.

"Because, ok?! You don't ignore visions from the Princess!" I snap at her.

"What? Link, the Princess did what?" Navi flies in excited circles while I continue to trudge forward.

"I can't explain, ok? We just need to go to the Temple." I stop. "Do you remember where it was?" Navi rolls her eyes.

"This way, genius." She heads off, moving so fast I have to jog to catch up. My hat keeps trying to slip off my head when I run, but there is no way I'm having that.

I finally puff to a halt in front of a huge mass of stone. Not as big as the castle, but pretty darn close. I push open the heavy door and enter into the cool interior. An unseen choir hums in the background. I gaze around in wonder. Everything is exactly like the vision . . .

I spot the alter Zelda had pointed out to me. As I move toward it, the three Spiritual Stones suddenly appear before me. They settle into three notches on the altar, fitting perfectly into place. I slowly pull out the blue ocarina.

"It's the Ocarina of Time . . ." A voice whispers. My head jerks up. What was that? I look everywhere, but no one is to be found. I slowly turn back to the altar and begin to play the sweet yet haunting melody that Zelda taught me. As the last notes fade, a great rumbling fills the area. A huge door behind the altar begins to grind its way open. I slowly step through it into a dimly lit room. Navi flies ahead of me quickly.

"Link, look! It's . . . it's the bane of evil. That legendary blade . . . the Master Sword!" I nod, barely able to believe my eyes. I had heard stories of the Master Sword. As I mount the steps, I notice that there are symbols carved relief-style into the area surrounding the pedestal. I slowly walk around them, circling the pedestal as I do so.

"He's arrived . . ."

"The one . . ."

"The Hero . . ." I whirl.

"What? Who's there!" I shout, desperately trying to find the speakers.

"Calmly, little one."

"Don't be so jumpy!"

"There is much to say."

"Link . . . we have something to tell you." I pause at that voice. I recognize all of them, like a long lost friend I had forgotten, but this one . . . this one was familiar in an intensely intimate way.

"The Sword . . . The Master Sword . . . it belongs to you. You are the only one who can wield it, if you so choose. With it, you can save Hyrule, or cast it into the darkness. If you choose to take the blade, hardship and pain will always follow you. But if you do not, you can lead a normal life, in whatever world emerges. No one will fault you, whatever your choice. But remember . . . it must be your choice." All the voices fade into silence, leaving just myself, Navi, and the Master Sword.

"Link . . . maybe we should go back . . ." I hold up a hand and stop her.

"No . . . this feels familiar. Besides, you heard the voice. I can save Hyrule or cast it into darkness. Even if no one will fault me . . . I can't just walk away." I turn to look at her, my cocky grin wedging itself onto my face. "After all, you can't lie to yourself." I reach out and grasp the handle of the sword. With a mighty heave, I pull it free of its pedestal. A bright flash of white eclipses everything. I stand straight for a moment, and then I fall backwards into darkness.


	5. Chapter 4

Sorry for the long wait, everyone! My hard-drive literally died on me, so I spent a week with my mom reinstalling everything, and then I discovered that I had lost the entire chapter! I had to start from scratch!

I recently discovered that none of my other chapters managed to hang onto their asterisks, so from now on 'X's will be in their place. Sorry for any confusion.

Sooo, anyway. This whole chapter is about the time Link was asleep, so there won't be anything from his point of view. I'll time stamp each section so you know what's what and so forth. The 'zero' year mark is the day Link pulled the Master Sword. And please, review, review, review!

Oh, one last thing. From now on, all the sections that are not told from Link's point of view will be written in past tense. Writing in present tense all the time simply causes me too many problems and too many headaches.

Chapter 4

½ year

Leyan jerked upright in his bed. His sheets were soaked through, and his head was pounding. He very carefully lowered his head into his hands until the throbbing receded to a manageable point. He thought about his dream again while he rubbed his temples. The dumb thing simply wouldn't leave him alone. It had been plaguing him for at least a week. Even Jazmyn was beginning to worry about him. It always started out the same way, with dark shapes and a sense of evil. That lurking presence always filled Le with dread. The dream would take different paths from there; sometimes he fought, sometimes he hid. Tonight, his dream self had decided to run. But even though he ran the fastest he could, the presence got steadily closer. And it always ended the same way, with a stone building emerging from the gloom. He would reach his hand out to the door, and just before he could reach it, he would wake. Every single time.

He had spoken to Jen about his dream. She had told him only that his description of the building sounded similar to one in the Market of Castle Town. Leyan had figured the rest out on his own. Obviously, he needed to get to this building before the darkness got to him. He felt his face set into hard lines as he made a decision.

Quickly, he got out of his bed and changed. Then he began filling his saddlebags with anything he would need. He tried to be as silent as he could, to avoid waking Jaz. He didn't want to explain where he was going. He finished filling his bags and set off for the stables, on the other side of the training complex.

He opened the door and stepped through. All of the horses were asleep, as he should be, and most were snorting gently. He moved down the row until he came to a stall marked 'Cresdo'. He opened the door and moved in cautiously, being careful as he roused his stallion. Okay, maybe it wasn't _his_ stallion, but it was the one he had trained on, which was close enough.

"Come on, boy. Time for a little trip," Le murmured while he pulled the saddle and bridle off the shelves. Basic horseback riding had been covered in training a month ago, so he felt reasonably certain he could control Cresdo. Le quickly buckled the saddle in place and slipped the bridle over Cresdo's head, making sure it fit comfortably in his mouth. He settled his saddlebags across Cresdo's back, and led him from the stable. As soon as they cleared the door, Le swung himself up into the saddle and lightly snapped the reins. Cresdo took off in a trot, and Le bent over his neck, urging him to go faster and faster until they broke into a canter.

XX

Jazmyn woke to the sound of thudding hooves. With a quickness that was becoming second nature, she leaped out of bed awake and ran to her window. She thrust the shutters open and stuck her head out just in time to see Leyan cantering past on Cresdo. She leaned out the window to shout at him, but he disappeared around the corner. She raced out of her bedroom, down the hallway, and burst out onto the little patch of grass right in front of the barracks. Le was heading for the gate.

"Le!" Jaz shouted. "LE! LEYAN!" She put every ounce of power into her voice, but Le just kept going.

"What on earth are you shouting about so early in the morning?" Jen demanded as she walked up behind Jaz. She finished pulling her hair up into a ponytail and planted her hands on her hips. Jaz pointed silently at the receding dust cloud that was Leyan. Jen shaded her eyes against the rising sun as she squinted.

"Well, well, well. I guess he decided to leave after all," Jen muttered to herself. "Come on, Jaz." She said, loud enough to be heard. "Go change. I want you on the track in ten minutes, you hear?" Jaz looked at her incredulously, but Jen just stared back. Jaz ducked her head in acknowledgement and slipped back inside to her room. Jen turned to gaze after Leyan.

"I hope you know what you're doing, kid."

XX

Jaz leaned her head back against the wall. It wasn't like Le to run out on her like this. The two of them hadn't been apart from each other for years! So what caused the sudden change?

She shook her head and finished pulling on her workout tunic. It would never do to be late to training.

XX

Leyan led Cresdo up to the stables, careful to not let go of his slippery reins. Not that the driving rain helped much in that regard. He stopped at the door, and the stable hand pointed to the price chart next to the door. Leyan sighed. He reached into his wallet and fished out the first half of the payment. He held it out to the stable hand, who snatched it up with practiced ease. He popped the door and let Le through. Le took Cresdo towards the back of the stables, to a stall that was unoccupied. He set about unloading his young horse, and pulled the saddle and bridle off to hang them on the wall. As Cresdo settled down, Le looked through his wallet. If he wanted to be able to buy food in the morning, he wasn't going to be able to afford a room for himself. He laid a blanket over Cresdo's back and settled into the corner on a stack of relatively clean hay.

XX

Leyan woke the next morning as sunlight streamed through the window above Cresdo's stall. He stretched as he sat up, trying to work the crick out of his back. He patted Cresdo on the head and left. Once he stepped outside, he felt much more like himself. He scanned the area around him and went hunting for a food stall. Once he found one, he ordered up some milk, a piece of fruit, and a sticky bun. He wandered around the Market as he ate, taking in the sights. He glanced over at a gift stall, and stopped for a double take. He watched as a sheet of red hair disappeared into an alley way.

"Wait!" He called involuntarily. He took off after the hair, but when he stumbled into the alley no one was there. He rubbed the back of his neck while he thought. "There's no way," he mused aloud. "She's still with Jen." He turned back to the stall to examine the wares. He was about to leave when he nudged something on the ground with his foot. He bent over and picked it up. It was a notebook. The cover was leather, stained in different sheds of red, similar to Jazmyn's hair color. He examined it closely, thinking. It would make the perfect present for Jaz! He smiled at the thought, but the smile died slowly as another thought dawned on him.

"Aww, no!" He moaned, and he smacked his head on the table of the stall.

"What's wrong, boy?" The owner asked, concerned. Leyan waved the notebook.

"I thought this would make the perfect present for my friend, but her birthday was yesterday! I left without even saying good bye!" He almost wailed. The owner smiled, bemused.

"Ah, come now. It's not that bad. Just tell her you're sorry." He regarded Le a moment longer. "Tell ya what. That book is only ten rupees, 'cause it was a bad dye job. But for you, you can have it for five rupees!" Le looked up at the owner. He blinked, not quite able to make sense of what had just been said. He fumbled with his wallet, and handed over a blue rupee.

"Thank you very much," he managed to utter before he left. He smiled slightly at the book, and tucked it into his pouch. He wandered around town for a bit longer. Soon, however, he passed through the shadow of a magnificent stone structure. He glanced up and stopped, stunned. The building from his dream!

He moved forward, first slowly, and then he broke out into a run. He reached the doors and pushed against them with all of his strength. They opened slowly, unwilling to allow a stranger to enter the rooms beyond. He slipped through the crack between the doors, and allowed them to swing shut behind him. He moved forward slowly, awestruck by the simple elegance. An unseen choir hummed in the background.

"What . . . what is this place?" He murmured. He passed over a dais, and noted how the platform seemed to be made of solid stone, and yet had an intricate design that seemed to be made of stone, and not paint. He came to a halt in front of an altar with three slight indentations in it. As he watched, three brilliant stones emerged from the altar, and hovered slightly above it.

"Leyan . . . it was good of you to have come." Le looked up quickly at the voice and shouted in surprise. He stumbled backward and fell as a shimmery and pale ghost materialized above the altar. It became the image of a small older man, with white hair, a fat stomach, and a yellow robe.

"Be calm, Leyan. There is much that I need to tell you and very little time in which to do so. I can not hold contact with this world for very long. The powers of darkness are growing, and it would not do for them to notice me here." Leyan took several deep breaths to calm the rapid beat of his heart before he spoke.

"Who are you?" He asked. The ghostly figure smiled sadly.

"My name is Rauru."

XXXX

Year 1.5

"Come, now, Jazmyn! I expect better than that!" Jen shouted from her platform. Jaz gritted her teeth and ignored her. She concentrated instead on the targets that were coming up fast. She took a few breaths and settled into the rhythm of her mare's gait. In a state of calm and concentration, she fired arrow after arrow into the targets as her mare raced past them. She passed the last target, slipped her bow into her quiver, and reined Sfilte in. She pulled her around and trotted back to the platform Jen was on. Jen was finishing the tally of Jaz's score.

"One thirty out of two hundred," she said. She looked at Jaz. "Most of that came from your second run. Your first was simply not up to standards, girl," she reproved. Jaz rolled her eyes.

"Yes, I know. I had to get used to the bow; I don't really care for the short ones. I like the long bows better." Jen raised an eyebrow as she swung herself onto her own horse.

"And just how do you know that?" Jen questioned while the two headed toward the stables. "I haven't let you train with the long bows. You need to build up your strength before you do," she stated. Jaz blushed as she ducked her head.

"Well, I . . . uh, you see . . . ah, the heck with it. I was bored a few weeks ago, and those freak rains had put a stop to most of our training anyway, so I started slipping out to the armory to practice. I just happened to pick up a long bow and, well . . ." she trailed off with a shrug. Jen looked at her sidelong a moment longer before she nodded briskly.

"Well, I suppose it doesn't matter." Jaz looked at her in astonishment. Jen smiled. "You obviously picked up some good sneaking skills; otherwise I would have caught you. Besides, I'm sure the pulled muscles you undoubtedly suffered were punishment enough. So tell me, how good are you with a long bow?" Jaz's face cracked into a grin, and she immediately launched into a run down of her own training regime and her marginal success with the long bows. She was still explaining after she and Jen had rubbed down their horses and cleaned their equipment.

"I must say, Jazmyn, I'm quite impressed." Jen told her. Jaz positively beamed. "But, I do have a few suggestions for y-" She was cut off as Jazmyn whirled around.

"Do you hear that?" She whispered. Jen listened closely.

"Hoof-beats?" She said in wonder. She looked to the left and right, quickly confirming that all of the horses were present and accounted for. Except . . .

Jaz stood still for a moment as the same thought registered in her mind, and like a shot she was out the door. She glanced at the gate just in time to see it close, and guided by instinct, she took off for the dormitories. She rounded the corner and skidded to a stop. A youth with tanned skin and blonde hair was swinging off of a young stallion at the door. He patted the stallion's neck, and reached up to brush his hair out of his face.

"Le . . . Leyan!" Jazmyn shouted, running forward. He turned just in time to catch her as she ran up and threw her arms around him.

"Ha ha! Yes, Jaz, it's me." He held her at arms length while he looked at her. "I'm back," he said, much softer. He pulled her close for another hug. Jen rounded the corner at a trot, but stopped as she saw the touching scene in front of her.

"Why don't you help me with my bags, Jaz? I discovered on the way back that I seemed to have pick up a lot more that I had heading out." Le said. Jaz pulled out of their hug and nodded, wiping her eyes.

"Of course I'll help, silly." She sniffed. "Do you want them in our room? I kept your side just the same."

"Umm, actually, Jaz, I was kinda hoping to get my own room. If you don't mind," he added quickly as he watched her face. She smiled at him, and he felt something in him relax just a bit.

"I don't mind. Which room do you want?" She asked, pulling a saddle bag off Cresdo.

"The one across from yours," He responded instantly. He pulled the other saddle bag off of his horse and followed Jaz into the dormitory. They walked down the hallway side by side, and Jaz nudged the door across from hers open with a foot. She placed the saddlebag on the floor next to the dresser carefully. Le dumped his on the floor, strode straight to the bed, and collapsed onto it face first, prompting a laugh out of Jaz. She sat on the edge of the bed next to him. She opened her mouth to speak, but she stopped when she noticed Jen standing in the door.

"Alright, you two. It's time for your afternoon exercises. Le, I don't want to see your face until you've rubbed down that poor horse of yours. He looks exhausted! Jaz, I want you to go grab a quick bite to eat and then I want to see you changed and on the mats. You have fifteen minutes, girl!" Jen spoke in her most General-like voice, and both of the children instantly leaped to obey. "Oh, and Le?" She stopped him before he went out the door and smiled at him. "I'm glad you're back."

XX

Leyan groaned as he fell backwards onto his bed. Every body muscle he had seemed to hurt. It wasn't like he hadn't kept up on his training! Heck, he'd thought that he'd kept himself in great shape! But oh, had he been wrong. Jen had decided that a full-contact hand-to-hand combat match was in order. And boy, had he been out of his league!

He continued to lament to himself for a few minutes until he heard a knock at his door. "Come in!" He called, pulling himself into a sitting position against the headboard. The door opened slowly, and Jaz poked her head through. Le smiled and patted the bed next to him. She came in slowly and sat on the foot of the bed with her legs crossed under her instead.

"How are you feeling?" She asked softly. Le snorted.

"Not bad, all things considered. I'll hurt worse in the morning, but that's just a side affect from being thrown around the mat like a rag doll," he pointed out, making Jaz laugh.

"Oh, it wasn't as one-sided as you make it out to be!" She said happily. She leaned closer and looked left to right like she was looking for eavesdroppers. "You didn't hear it from me;" she stage-whispered, "But Jen has a bruise on her arm from that throw you pulled off!" She grinned, and the two laughed conspiratorially. But just as suddenly as she started, Jazmyn stopped. "You know, I was thinking about that move," she said in a completely different voice. "Jen said only a few of the best fighters can master it. Where did you learn it?" Leyan shifted against the head board before he answered.

"I . . . I picked it up. While I was away, I met some very interesting people, and they taught me some neat tricks." Jaz stared at him for a moment. Why was he hiding things? Then she shook her head. She hugged her knees to her chest and rested her chin on them.

"I was thinking about that too," she said. Le cocked his head.

"What do you mean?"

"Well . . . I was . . . I was wondering why you left." She said, very, very softly.

"Oh." That was the only thing Leyan said for several minutes. He rubbed his face with his hands. "I don't know if I can explain," he said. He looked up quickly as he heard Jaz sniff. He started as he realized that tears were running silently down her face.

"I kind of understand, Leyan, but . . . I mean, on our birthday?" The last few words emerged as little more than a whisper. She started to sob softly, and Le moved forward to a point where he could wrap his arms around her.

"I'm so sorry, Jazmyn," he said as he rocked her back and forth very gently. "I never meant to hurt you. Trust me. The day after I left was when I remembered, and I felt so horrible about it. I almost couldn't forgive myself." He patted Jaz on the back. "Here," he said suddenly. He let go of her and leaned over the bed to rummage through one of his saddlebags. He sat back up, holding a small package in his hands. He held it out. Jazmyn took it, holding it gently between her hands.

"What is it?" Le laughed at her innocent question.

"You have to open it to find out, silly." He smiled. She pulled on the string, undoing the simple bow, and pulled off the brown wrapping paper.

"Oh, Leyan," she whispered. "It's so beautiful!" In her hands she held a small notebook. The leather cover was stained in different reds, just like her hair. She stroked the cover for a moment, then she reached into her pocket.

"I have a present for you too," she said. She pulled out a thin cord, on which hung a delicate wood carving. "It's the symbol for protection," she said as Le took it from her and slipped it over his own head. "I'm sure it would have been of more use to you if I had given it to you before you left, but I prayed with it to the three Goddesses every morning to make sure you stayed safe." Le grasped the charm in his hand for a moment before he reached out and hugged her again.

"I'm sure it did its job, even with the distance," he said into her ear. "Now!" He sat back. "I hope you don't mind, but I really need to sleep. Sparring with Jen took all of my strength." He smiled at her as he spoke. Jaz smacked him lightly on the shoulder for it.

"Silly! Of course you're tired!" She moved towards the door as she spoke. "Get some sleep and I'll see about getting you something special for breakfast so you can come back strong!" She waved as she shut the door, back to her happy and laid-back self. Le waved back, smiling to himself.

"Happy late twelfth birthday, Jazmyn," he murmured as he lay down to sleep.

XX

"It's time to wake up!" Jaz sat straight up in bed at the sing-song voice. She rubbed her eyes blearily, trying to make out the figure standing at the door. Her jaw nearly hit the floor as she recognized Jen. "Come on, get out of bed! It's not everyday that a girl turns thirteen!" And with that, Jen turned around and opened Leyan's door and delivered much the same message, except 'boy' replaced 'girl'. After she was certain that both of them had been roused, she stood in the center of the hallway where she could talk to them both.

"Today, you celebrate thirteen years of being alive. And I plan to put your youthful teenaged energy to good use." She grinned impishly at the twin groans. "I want you up, dressed and in the armory in exactly fifteen minutes! No dawdling!" She commanded as she strode out the dormitory door. Jazmyn and Leyan looked at each other in disbelief for a few moments, and then, at the same time, they leapt out of their beds and shut their respective doors to change.

XX

"Oh, heavens!" Leyan moaned as he collapsed on his bed. "I can't believe her!"

"Can't believe what?" Jazmyn asked, poking her head in. Le raised his head to glare at her.

"You know what I mean! I can't believe Jen would make us do such intensive training on our birthday!" He exclaimed. Jaz shrugged as she stepped fully into the room.

"I can. She did this last year, too." She managed to gloss over the reference to the day Le had left with only a slight glitch in her voice, but Leyan grimaced at the reminder.

"I am sorry," he said. Jaz shrugged again.

"Whatever. It's in the past. Now, are we going to open presents now, or do you want to wait until after dinner?"

"Well, why don't we-" Le cut himself off as he noticed the door opening. "Who is it?" Jen poked her head through without opening the door the entire way.

"You two should change! Wear something nice, and then come down to the dinning hall, ok?" She pulled her head back without another word and shut the door. Jaz and Le looked at each other, totally perplexed.

"What does she mean, 'something nice'?" Jaz wondered aloud.

"Probably a dress, for you. And a nice tunic and breeches for me. Something I haven't been sweating in all day," Le responded. The look Jaz turned on him was pure horror.

"Are you telling me I have to go dig out the horrible old dress of mine? I don't even know if it fits any more!" She exclaimed in dismay. Le laughed.

"Well, if you'll step out and let _me_ change, I'll come and help, ok?" He said, making a shooing gesture towards the door. Jaz looked rather reluctant. "Oh, come _on_. I used to help you all the time! Now shoo! I'll be ready in ten minutes." He told her. She nodded once, still uneasy, as she slipped out the door into her own room. Le immediately turned to his dresser to dig out the dress clothes that he had bought while he was away. He stepped into breeches of deep black edged in white, a black shirt, and a white tunic edged in black. He had bought them two sizes too big, but a friend of his had showed him how to pin them so they fit. That way he could hang on to them for a while longer while he grew. He sat for a few minutes polishing the leather of his black dress boots, and then he pulled them on and tucked his breeches into them. He ran a hand through his hair, trying to tame it without much success, and grabbed the small package he had hid under his bed the day before. He tucked it into his pocket and went to knock on Jazmyn's door.

"Jaz? Can I come in?" He called.

"Yeah," she called back absently. He pushed open the door and found her standing in front of a mirror, dressed in a white gown that had blue trimmings along the hems and decorative flowers sewn along the sleeves. She turned to look at him, a perplexed expression on her face.

"I found this on my bed," she told him. He simply shrugged.

"I bet Jen gave it to you. Now, let me help you with your hair." He sat her on the bed and pulled out her ponytail, allowing her hair to fall freely down her back. It reached almost to her waist, now. He pulled the brush through it, helping the tangles out and giving it a beautiful shine. He played with her bangs for a moment and parted her hair to one side. He stood back to admire his work, and found that he was quite pleased.

"There! Go look in the mirror. I think you be happy," he said to Jaz. She stood and moved over to the mirror. She studied her reflection from top to bottom, scrutinizing it.

"Weeell," she said, dragging the word out, "I suppose I don't look too terrible." She waved her skirt back and forth. "Could be worse," she murmured. She looked speculatively at her feet, scrunching her nose up as she thought.

"Do you think I can get away with just my boots?" She asked, a mischievous grin on her face. Le laughed.

"Why not? I don't think anyone will care." He said, bending over to pick up the worn leather shoes. He wrinkled his nose at them. "But I can't let you wear boots in this state. Where do you keep your polish?" Jaz pointed to the dresser.

"Top drawer," she said. "Cloths should be right next to it." Le retrieved the needed items and sat on the edge of her bed to work with the boots. Under his expert care, the leather softened and deepened in color.

"There," Le said, satisfied. "Now they'll be more comfortable and more presentable. And a tip: if you polish them regularly, they'll stand up to the elements better." He raised an eyebrow at Jaz, and she blushed at the silent accusation. "We'll need to buy you new ones soon, though. These must be almost too small. Not to mention the areas about to give out from wear." He commented as he helped her slip them on. "Now, Milady," he said courteously as he stood and extended an arm, "Shall we see what the fuss in the dinning hall is all about?" Jazmyn tucked her hand into his elbow and flicked her skirts.

"And so we shall, good sir."

XX

"Surprise!" Jaz and Le both stated at the shout. They had opened the dinning hall door to discover that it was dark. As they moved forward cautiously, the shields on the lamps had been pulled back, revealing a round dinning table and the staff of the camp, all in their finest dress. Everyone was clapping and laughing, excited to have a happy occasion to celebrate. Jen moved forward, clothed in a dress tunic with matching shirt and breeches, and slung an arm around each of their shoulders.

"Come now! It's time for your birthday dinner!" She said, guiding each of them to their places at the table. As they sat, everyone else settled into their chairs and began passing the food.

"Well? What do you think?" Jen asked Jaz. "Not to shabby for a surprise, huh?" She winked.

"I think this is amazing," Jaz replied, smiling. "All Le and I have ever done before is exchange presents with each other. It's nice to share our birthday with other people for a change." She passed the plate she was holding and reached for another. "Although, I have to say, I would never have expected this with the training you put us through today!" Jen laughed.

"That was the point. And now, a toast!" She said, raising her wine glass. The other glasses followed suit, quickly joined by Jaz and Le's juice glasses. "To Jazmyn and to Leyan," she said, tipping her glass to each of them, "To thirteen happy years of being alive, and to many, many more. Hear hear!" All the others repeated the end of her toast and clinked glasses before they all took a sip.

The rest of dinner was filled with laughter, stories, and lots of food. The adults got more rambunctious as the wine flowed freely, but Jaz and Le enjoyed every moment of it anyway. The wicks in the lamps were all flickering low by the time everyone had finished dessert. Soon, the cook stood-albeit unsteadily-and waved a hand for silence.

"Well," she started, "I hope everyone has had a good time. Now, time for presents!" She swayed a little and sat back down in her chair. Jen smiled.

"Jazmyn is already wearing our present, Grace," she pointed out. Jaz glanced down at the dress in surprise. She had almost forgotten she was wearing it.

"Oh, thank you so much! It's very beautiful," she said to all of the staffers in general. Jen turned to Leyan.

"We weren't sure if you would be here in time for your birthday, but we got you a little something anyway." She reached to a table behind her and lifted up a large package. She handed it to Leyan. He weighed it in his hands for a few moments before he pulled the wrapping off. What he saw stunned him speechless.

"What is it, Leyan?" Jazmyn asked.

"It's . . . it's three volumes from an encyclopedia." He said. "I've always wanted to own one." Jen grinned, as did all the other staff members.

"We know. You told me once that you always loved to read, and you wished that you had something with a lot of knowledge and information in it. So, we worked together to get this for you. It covers lots of things; magic, politics, war, and my personal favorite, the history of Hyrule. One of those is the start of the war section. The other two are the start of magic. War and magic both have three more books. Politics is spread among three books, and the history is spread among five." Jen recited the list as though she had been practicing it for days. Le stroked the top book, reveling in the soft leather of the cover. He opened it and began flipping through the pages. He stopped when Jaz put her hand on his arm.

"Come on, bookworm. You can look at them more in the morning. Right now, we need to go to bed. I'm sure Jen won't let us sleep in tomorrow." She glanced at Jen as she said this, and got an instant confirmation. The two friends stood together.

"Thank you for a wonderful evening," Le said.

"And for such beautiful and thoughtful gifts," Jaz added. The two smiled and set off for the dormitories.

XX

"Are you decent, Jaz?" Le called through her door.

"Yes! Come on in!" She hollered back. He nudged the door open and sat on the edge of her bed. She had just finished braiding her hair in preparation to go to sleep. She raised an eyebrow when she saw him.

"You're still dressed. Why aren't you in pajamas like me?" She asked, pointing at her loose shirt and short breeches.

"I couldn't sit still. I wanted to give you my present." Jaz's face lit.

"Okay! But I get to go first this time." She sat next to him and pulled a small drawstring bag out from under her pillow. She turned it upside down on her hand, and a small round gold charm fell out of the bag. "It's another charm for your cord," she explained. "This one is the symbol of luck. I know you always say that luck doesn't exist, but I figured it might help anyway." She handed it to him and he pulled the cord off of his neck to slide it on. Then he handed her the package he had been carrying. She opened it to find a beautifully woven bracelet. He reached out to help her try it on.

"I found this while I was traveling," he told her. "The thread was spun in Kakariko by the Sheikah. The dyes for the thread came from the Lost Woods, and the stones are from Death Mountain. The charm is made of gold from the desert, in the sign of the three Goddesses. It was created by the Zora, in the waters of Lake Hylia, and I bought it in Castle Town. I figured it had a bit of all of Hyrule in it, just like you." Jaz looked at the bracelet for a moment, speechless.

"Oh, Leyan, it's beautiful! It's the best present ever." She threw her arms around him in a hug.

XXXX

The large wooden doors opened slowly. The last visitor to this sacred place had been a young boy, still searching for his place in the world. This visitor already knew where he wanted to be, and he was willing to do anything to get there.

Ganondorf stalked down the cavernous room, his eyes scanning the walls. He stopped as his enhanced eyesight detected a thin seam. His face cracked into a humorless smile. He examined the seam for a moment. Satisfied, he stood back and began chanting an incantation. Black magic began to flicker around his fingers. He gathered it into a ball and casually flicked it at the wall. The concealed door exploded into fragments, allowing Ganondorf access to the room beyond.

He moved beyond the door and continued towards the pedestal, but he stopped up short when he noticed that it was empty. He closed his eyes and cast another spell, one to see into the past. When he opened his eyes, ghost images wavered in front of him. He quickly moved through most of them until he came upon a small boy clad in green. It was the youngster who had stood up to him at the bridge! What an interesting development. He watched as the boy strode forward to grasp the sword. He inhaled sharply as the sword slid free of the pedestal.

"That young face . . . it is so familiar. Oh, what a delicious twist! My legendary adversary, as yet a young boy." Ganondorf exclaimed. "I should thank him someday. He has yet again given me access to the one think that can grant my desires." He bent and touched the pedestal, allowing his magic to flow into it. When he straitened, he was in a different realm. A golden light washed over his feet, and he turned to face the Triforce.

XXXX

Year 3

"Jaz, have you seen my bow?" Le shouted from his corner of the armory.

"Did you check behind the trunk with the spare leather in it?" Jaz shouted back.

"Yes!"

"Well, check again! That's were it was last time." Jaz said as she walked around the corner. She'd pulled her hair into a ponytail and was strapping on her wrist guards. Le grumbled, but he reached behind the trunk anyway. A startled look crossed his face, and he smiled sheepishly at her as he displayed his bow. She rolled her eyes.

"I just don't get it. How can you be so neat in your room and so messy everywhere else?" She demanded while she picked up her quiver.

"Oh yeah? How can you be so messy in your room and so neat everywhere else?" He retorted as he grabbed his arrows. Jaz laughed at the jab before she pushed him out the door.

"Well, hurry it up, Mr. Messy," she commanded. "We're already going to be late, and we still have to prep our horses." He stuck his tongue out at her as they set off for the stables. They were just leading their horses to the archery range when Jen found them.

"Where have you two been? I've been waiting for almost fifteen minutes!"

"It was Le's fault. He couldn't find his bow," Jaz responded immediately.

"Hey! Way to throw me under the wagon, Jaz!" He exclaimed. She shoved at him good-naturedly, and he shoved back.

"Children, children! No need to fight. But you know what being late means." Jen grinned wolfishly at the two groans. "You can push the two extra laps off until after today's target run. I need to see how you two have improved." Jaz and Le looked at each other mournfully before they pulled themselves into their saddles and set off for the range. She was just setting off after them when John stopped her.

"I don't mean to bother you, ma'am, but there are some visitors here to see you. They said they need you right away," the butler explained, wringing his hands. Jen patted his shoulder.

"It's not a bother. I'll go see to my visitors. Would you go with Jazmyn and Leyan to score their runs? We need to keep them honest, after all," she smiled. John nodded vigorously, and Jen set off to see her visitors.

XX

"Nicely done! Leyan, you scored seventy-five points." John complimented Le as he guided Cresdo to the platform John stood on.

"Thanks, John. Although I bet it doesn't hold a candle to Jaz." He smiled at his friend. "She always seems to do better with the fighting. I'm just a simple bookworm." John smiled back, but declined to comment. He always felt the Leyan was harder on himself than he was on others. And he wasn't terrible at fighting! Heaven only knows how bad John himself was at it. But Jazmyn . . . Jazmyn always seemed to have that special touch. As was evidenced by the current score she was racking up in the range. Jaz finished her run and had pulled Sfilte to a halt when she noticed Jen walking towards the platform. She nudged Sfilte into a trot and set off for the group.

As she got closer she noticed two more people standing next to Jen. One of them looked oddly familiar . . .

"Ms. Impa!" Jaz pulled Sfilte to a stop next to them and beamed at the woman she had recognized. "It's good to see you! Tell me, how is Princess Zelda?" Jaz's smile faded a little as Impa looked away. She looked a question at Jen, who shook her head.

"Le, Jaz, will you two put your horses away and meet us in the dinning room? We have a couple of things we need to discuss with Impa." Jaz and Le nodded and nudged their horses off towards the stables. Jen looked at John.

"Can you keep the staff out for a while? I'll fill everyone in later, but there are a few things that Leyan and Jazmyn should hear first." John nodded and headed off to find the rest of the staff. Jen turned around to face Impa. "Come. I'll lead you two to the dinning room."

XX

"What's this all about, Jen?" Jaz asked as she and Le sat down. Jen and Impa were sitting in the armchairs across the table from her, holding tea cups. Jaz glanced to the side and started as she finally noticed a young man sitting in the third chair. He wore a blue, purple, and white skin-tight suit, and a design painted in red stood out on his chest. It looked almost like an eye. He wore a white shawl wrapped around his head, although his blonde bangs and red eyes were left free. But the bangs fell in front of his left one. Bandages were wrapped around his hands, forearms, and calves. "And who is this?"

"This is Sheik," Impa answered. "He's the son of a friend. He asked me to bring him out here. He wants to refine his skills." Jen nodded.

"I agreed to take him on. After all, it's not like we don't have room." She made a feeble attempt at a joke, but the dark aura radiating from Impa and Sheik stopped it cold.

"I saw the end of your run," Sheik spoke suddenly, startling everyone. "How long have you been practicing on the range?"

"Um." Jaz shook her hard slightly as she worked over her surprise. His voice was surprisingly high. "A year and a half."

"What was your score?"

"I don't know. I didn't have a chance to tally it."

"I did," Le interrupted. "You got a perfect hundred." Jen smiled.

"Wonderful, Jaz. I'm glad you've improved." Jaz nodded, her eyes shifting back to Jen.

"Thank you, Jen, but it was more luck than anything. It's a hard course." She responded. Her eyes snapped to Sheik as he snorted.

"Ha! Then you should never try the Gerudo's range. It's far tougher than the one here!"

"Sheik!" Impa snapped. "Mind your manners!" Sheik merely looked at her before he reached for his own cup. "I apologize for his behavior," she said to Jaz. She threw a glare in Sheik's direction before she continued. "He's a bit impetuous, and stubborn as a mule." She held up a finger as he started to responded angrily. "You deserved that and you know it. Now sit quietly until someone asks you a question." Sheik responded with a glare not unlike Impa's own and sank into his chair as he stared moodily into his tea. Impa turned to Jaz and Le before she continued.

"I have some news from Hyrule." Both of the teenagers sat up eagerly. "Unfortunately, it is not good news. Princess Zelda is currently missing, and the King-as well as the nobles- are being held hostage by Ganondorf." Jaz inhaled at the name. She couldn't say why, but it rang a bell . . .

Jen threw a glance in Jaz's direction before she spoke. "Ganondorf is the leader of the Gerudo. He appeared three years ago, wanting to 'ally' himself with the king." She shook her head. "Everyone advised against it, but after the Great War, the King felt that he couldn't say no. He accepted Ganondorf's offer. About fifteen months ago, Ganondorf got a hold of some powerful armies. He took Castle Town by force." Le inhaled sharply. Jen looked at him, and invited him to say more.

"Well, I've been reading the war encyclopedia you gave me. From what I read, it would take enormous armies to break Castle Town, and even larger casualties. I can't believe that this Ganondorf could find the number of warm bodies he needed." Le explained.

"He didn't. As big as his armies were, he didn't need them to be that huge. He took Castle Town with minimal casualties." Everyone stared at Impa. She hadn't shared this information even with Jen. "He surrounded the town and sent in a messenger with a claim that he had Zelda. Oh," she continued, waving her hand, "Of course he didn't really. Only I knew where Zelda was, but I wasn't able to pass that knowledge to the King before he surrendered." Jen was visibly shaken. She leaned forward and rested her head on her hands.

"Why didn't you say anything, Impa?" She whispered.

"Because there was no pressing need. Besides, I've seen it before." Now she really had everyone's attention. She sighed. "I've already explained this to Sheik, so it's not a surprise to him, but I barely told you anything last time, Jen, and I'm sure you haven't told Jazmyn or Leyan anything. There is a legend of one who will save Hyrule from an evil fate. One whose power is greater than anyone else's; one who can control the very ebb and flow of time." Jaz and Le perked up as they listened. "He saved our land once before, but a mistake was made. He was sent back, back to his childhood. This reset the timeline. Now he must defeat Ganondorf again. But this time, he will not stand alone." Impa's eyes burned with fierce determination. Jaz glanced at Le before she spoke.

"I have two questions, Impa. First, why are you the only person who remembers this? And second, well, why is it relevant to us?"

"I don't know why I remember. And you must understand that there are things I_ don't_ remember. But I do remember this . . ." Over the next thirty minutes, she told them a story of a brave young man liberating the Sages from imprisonment in the temples, and combining himself with their power to defeat Ganondorf and restore light to Hyrule. "And it's relevant to you, Jazmyn, and you, Leyan, because you are going to help him." Both of the teenagers sat up straight in surprise. Impa grimaced. "You can bet that if I remember some things, Ganondorf will remember even more. It's going to be a lot more dangerous this time around for Link."

"Link? Is that his name?" Jen nodded in answer to Leyan's question.

"Yes. But there is more. Jazmyn," she said gently, "Link is the man from your dream." Jaz gasped.

"What are you talking-what do you-what?" She stammered.

"The dream you told me about when I first met you. It was almost like a prophecy, predicting the coming of the Hero for a second time. I know it's a lot to take in all at once. Why don't the two of you take the rest of the day and show Sheik around the complex?" Jen suggested. Jaz stood, almost in a trance, and Le quickly stood with her to guide her out the door. Sheik followed behind them.

"Was that too much information at once?" Jen worried aloud.

"She needed to know. Both of them did. Let it sink in for a day or two. They'll make sense of it," Impa said sadly. "Now, I'm sorry to run out on you like this, but there are pressing matters in Kakariko that I must attend to." Jen looked at her friend, her eyes searching.

"You meant more than Jaz and Le when you said that Link wouldn't stand alone, didn't you?" She asked slowly, piecing it together. Impa smiled tightly.

"Yes. I did. I don't know who I can find to stand with me, but I will do the best I can." She leaned forward to kiss Jen on the cheek. "Keep the children safe. Goddesses bless."

"Goddesses bless," Jen repeated.

XX

Jaz's eyes popped open as she heard soft, gentle footsteps in the corridor. It could be nothing, but Jen was always up for surprise attacks. They had become infrequent in the last two weeks, but that was only because she was focusing on surprising Sheik, not Le or Jaz. The kid had a devilish talent for being sneaky, and was so flexible that Jaz swore he didn't have bones, but had replaced them with rubber.

She slipped out of bed and padded silently across the floor, barefoot. She peaked out the door, catching a glimpse of white fabric disappearing out the front door. She grinned to herself. Ten to one said that was Sheik's braid. The Goddesses only knew why a boy had a braid that long, but Jaz had never gotten to ask. Every time she tried to be nice to the kid, he snapped back at her.

_Although, I really shouldn't call him a kid,_ she mused. _After all, he _is_ five months older than me._ She debated a moment longer, and then shrugged. She grabbed her shoes and followed him outside. She peeked around the corner and spotted him disappearing into the armory. He emerged a moment later with a long bow in hand. She tailed him all the way the to the indoor archery range. Her hand snaked out and caught the door behind him before it closed, and she slid through. She leaned against the wall with her arms crossed and watched as he shot arrow after arrow at the targets. And he wasn't very accurate, either.

"Erg!" The small sound was evidence of his frustration. He set his bow down and threw his head back, staring at the ceiling.

"You know, if you can't learn to walk without making a single sound, Jen _is_ going to catch you. That woman has ears everywhere." Sheik nearly jumped out of his skin when Jaz spoke. "Oh, come on! You can't pretend you didn't at least _think_ someone was following you."

"Uh. Actually, I had no idea. I was pretty focused. But I guess you already knew that." He waved at the targets. "But how did you hear me?"

"Trust me I did plenty of sneaking about myself. About a year and a half ago, I was sneaking out to the armory to practice, just like you! And believe you me, the only reason Jen didn't catch me was because John covered for my ass more than once!" Sheik's shawl twitched, and Jaz was certain it was covering a smile.

"Why do you wear that shawl?" She asked suddenly. Sheik's eye opened in surprise.

"Well . . . habit, I guess." He shrugged.

"Huh. Ok. Could you at least lower it a bit? It's kind of unnerving to not be able to see someone's face." Sheik started to snap, but he made himself stop as he realized she was only being honest. In a weird, pushy, sisterly sort of way. He reached up slowly and pulled the shawl down low enough to expose his mouth.

"Better?"

"Much. Now tell me, why are you torturing yourself at night? Jen will drive you hard enough during the day!" Sheik grimaced.

"Can't you tell? I suck!" He responded glumly. Jaz glanced at the targets. His shots were farther off than she had thought.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but why does it matter that you suck? Aren't you here to improve?" She tried to keep her voice gentle, but his visible eye flared indignantly and his mouth tightened.

"You wouldn't understand." He shoved his shawl back over his face and gathered up his bow. He was halfway to the door when Jaz stopped him.

"First off, you leave those arrows here and I'll help Jen kick your ass. And second, where the hell do you get off with that kinda attitude?" She demanded. He glared at her, but her face was set. He grudgingly motioned to his outfit.

"Can't you tell? I'm a Sheikah! We're the best of the best. At everything. If I admit that I can't shoot . . . then I'm no better than a stupid Hylian!" Jaz's mouth dropped in shock.

"That's it? That's your problem? That you don't want to admit that someone else might be better at something?" She glanced at the bow in his hand. Realization dawned in her face. "That's why you were so touchy when we met! You saw the end of my archery run, and I was using a longbow . . ." Sheik only looked away. Jaz glared at him and reached out to smack the back of his head.

"Hey! What was that for?"

"For being an idiot. Impa would have done the same thing." He winced at Impa's name. "See? You know better than to act like this! If you really are a Sheikah, than you can stand up and admit that there is something you can work on. Everyone has to improve. No one can be the best at everything." She placed a hand on his shoulder. He started to jerk away, but she gripped it gently.

"Let me make you a deal. If you teach me some of the tricks to being so flexible, then maybe I can give you a couple of shooting pointers. Just between the two of us." Sheik looked up at her face, and didn't see any of the pity he had been expecting. Instead, he saw an earnest expression, one waiting for an answer.

"Alright. I guess that's fair." Jaz's face lit up like the sun.

"Yay! Alright, let's start with your stance. Let me see it." For the next hour, Jaz corrected Sheik's shooting stance. He moaned when they finally finished.

"Oh, Nayru! That was almost worse than some of my stretches!" Jaz grinned.

"You are working with a longbow. Be grateful I'm here to help. I taught myself." A shudder skittered across her shoulders at the memory. "I woke up after the first night and could barely move! Then I had to face Jen in the ring!" Sheik smiled at the image. Over the course of the lesson, his shawl had slipped below his chin, and he had never reached up to fix it. He cracked his neck from side to side as he retrieved the arrows he had shot earlier.

"When do you want to start on your flexibility?" He called over his shoulder. Jaz yawned.

"Not tonight. I need some sleep. We'll sneak out tomorrow, and split the time evenly, ok?" Sheik nodded in agreement. Jaz helped him put his bow away, and they slipped back into the dormitories to sleep.

XXXX

Year 4

_Dear Jen,_

_How are you? Are you keeping busy? Heaven knows how busy I've been lately. I'm running around like a cucoo with my head cut off! Most of the organization is going well, but there are always things that only I seem to be able to take care of .And, unfortunately, the concern I expressed to you last year about the availability of volunteers has proved true. Many Sheikah have agreed to help, but the Zora and the Gorons are being a bit more difficult. Most of the Zoras feel that anything that happens outside of Lake Hylia or their Domain has nothing to do with them, and the Gorons told me that their philosophy is live and let live._

_Ganondorf has made demands of submission to the leaders of the races, but so far he has not shown any force. But I fear that a show of force is not long in coming. I am no longer fully confidant in my ability to handle this situation by myself. Will you come and assist me, General Dase?_

_Your friend, _

_Impa_

_P.S. Bring the children with you. Their basic training is complete, yes? We'll finish the rest of the training here._

Jen gazed at the letter in a slight state of shock. She had listened when Impa expressed her concerns, but this was outrageous! Didn't the Zoras and the Gorons understand that whatever happened to Hyrule would affect them? She shook her head. It didn't matter what the other races thought. What did matter was that Impa had requested her aid, and Jen would do anything that Impa asked of her. She set the letter on the desk and went to find her pupils.

XXXX

Year 5

"Please, King Zora, you must listen to us! We have reason to believe-"

"You have reason to believe that Ganondorf will use force against us. Impa made the same argument, young one." King Zora interrupted Sheik. "But you see, Ganondorf can do nothing to us. Has unfortunate as it is that King Raston of Hyrule has been . . . replaced, we will do nothing. The affairs of Hylians mean little to us."

"What do you mean?" Leyan demanded. "How can the threat of Ganondorf not disturb you? The armies he raised to take Castle Town would break past your defenses in a matter of days!" King Zora chuckled.

"No, my dear boy, they will not. You see, while we control Lake Hylia, we control the main source of water in Hyrule. If Ganondorf does not want his armies to die of thirst, there is nothing he can do to us."

"You truly believe that? What is wrong with-hmpf?" Leyan began angrily, but Sheik threw a hand across his mouth.

"We're very sorry for disturbing you, your Majesty," he said, bowing. "We'll be going now." He grabbed Leyan's shoulders and forcibly steered him down the stairs. When they reached the bottom, Le shook his head, trying to make Sheik let go. Finally, he opened his mouth wide and bit.

"Hey! Watch it!" Sheik cried, shaking his hand. "Geez. I don't think I've ever seen you that pissed off," he remarked.

"Well, King Zora is being an idiot." Le snapped. He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "And normally I wouldn't react like that. I guess Jaz finally rubbed off on me." Sheik grinned behind his shawl. But his grin slowly faded into a grimace.

"How do you think their meeting is going?" It was Leyan's turn to grimace.

"Probably worse than ours did."

XX

"Really, Darunia, I can't believe you are being this naïve!" Jen stood with her hands on her hips, her face set in a scowl. "I know you remember the Great War. If we don't stand up to Ganondorf _now_, the fight that is coming will be ten times as bad!"

"You don't know that," Darunia replied.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but weren't the Gerudo involved in the last war? And since Ganondorf is King of the Gerudo, and has been for-as I understand it-over fifty years, I would think that he played a major role in that War." Jaz piped up for her seat on the table. Darunia looked at her.

"Be that as it may, little one. I lost enough of my Brothers in that war because we jumped in without looking. This time, if Ganondorf does nothing to us, we will do nothing to him." Darunia crossed his arms, his expression set. Jen opened her mouth to say more, but Jaz laid a hand on her arm. She shut her jaw and nodded sharply to Darunia before strolling out the door, Jaz close behind her.

"That could have gone better," Jaz said slowly when they left Goron City. Jen threw her hands up in the air.

"They just won't see reason," she exclaimed.

"That just means that we will have to show them." Jaz said firmly.

**EDIT**

Ok, that was a lot longer than I thought. Both in page numbers, and the number of hours to reconstruct it. Anywhoo, I just wanted to cover a few things. Like: Sheik's appearance is a combo of the male/female versions I have found; Raston is a made up name, I couldn't find one given by Nintendo; and yes, this entire chapter is completely made up because I had no events from the game for reference. After all, in the game, it took seven seconds for seven years to pass.

One last thing; in my planning, I never quite nailed down pairings for this story. Like, should it be Zelda/Link or Jazmyn/Link? I can't decide. But if some nice reader should decide to leave me a review expressing his/her opinions, it might help my decision along . . . (muahaha! Blackmail for reviews! :D)

~~Firebird29~~


	6. Chapter 5

Notes:

Yeah, so, I had totally meant to have this up before school started . . . in August . . . . . .

My apologies! *bow* Time got away from me. Massively so. And this took for_ever_ to write it so I was happy. Still not perfectly satisfied, but I'll get over it. Anyway; I had meant for this chapter to cover a lot more that it does, but I figured I'd lose your attention if I made it any longer, so here ya go!

And remember, Read, Enjoy, Review! (I still need . . . _input_ . . . on the whole pairing thing. ;-D )

Chapter 5

"Link . . . you must wake up, Link . . ." I twitch at the insistent voice. I shake my head and roll over, trying to curl up in a ball so I can go back to sleep. Who is talking to me, anyway? I didn't sleep well last night. Such horrible dreams . . . And who is Link?

"Wake up . . ." I think hard for a moment, trying to figure out how I know the voice. Where am I, anyway?

"Wake up, Link!" I sit up at the almost shout, blearily rubbing my eyes as the world around me came into focus.

"What?" I mumble, trying to rub away a pounding headache. I was . . . in a temple . . . Whoa! The Temple!

I scramble to my feet as the last moments before I touched the sword come flooding back. I stumble over my own feet, finally managing to stand as I curse unintelligibly. .A flash of yellow -a robe. A man? I open my mouth to speak, but the man raises a hand to stop me.

"My name is Rauru, Link. You are in the Sacred Realm." He waved around himself. I follow his direction and look around to see a beautiful space, full of soft light and blue tinted columns. Why is this place so . . . familiar?

"There would be more to show you if not for . . . well, suppose we get to that in a minute?" My gaze snaps back to Rauru. "Do not be surprised at what you shall see. Look down at yourself, Link." I glance down and my mouth drops in shock. When in Hyrule did I grow up? I have to be at least six feet! My clothes are the same, a green tunic, white leggings, but this white undershirt is new. Brown suede boots, leather gauntlets and a larger version of my green hat complete the ensemble. I look . . . like me, but not me, you know? Like when you look in a mirror and you can't quite believe that's your face.

"I am sure there is much you wish to ask." Rauru says with a twinkle in his eye. I blink, trying to collect my thoughts.

"Where's Navi?" I ask abruptly, remembering my fairy. Rauru smiles.

"Under your hat, I would imagine." I reach up under my hat and carefully remove Navi, holding her gently in my hand.

"Are you alright, Navi?" She sits up in my palm, blinking woozily, with a hand on her head.

"I think so. I'm just really tired." She yawns and stands. She freezes mid-stretch as she looks at me. "Link! You're all grown up!" She flies around me in excited circles. I laugh at her antics.

"I know! But I'm not the only one. Look at yourself!" Navi perches on my hand again while she examines herself.

"You're right! I've grown at least another inch! And look at my dress!" She twirls, her long blue hair flying, as she shows off the fabric. It starts light blue on her shoulders and darkens to a navy blue along the wavy hem line. Isn't my fairy the coolest thing ever?

"Ahem. I don't wish to interrupt, but there are a few things we need to talk about . . ." I look up at Rauru and all playfulness drains from my face as I recognize his serious expression. I lift Navi to my shoulder to free my hands.

"First things first. Why are we here? I remember the voices, telling me about my destiny, or something, and then I grabbed the sword. After that . . . well, next thing I knew, you were waking me up." I shrug. "Second, I've obviously changed. Why?" Rauru smiles, but it seems almost sad. I've never been very good at reading emotions, but Rauru seems to wear his heart on his sleeve.

"Your first question also holds the answer to your second. When you took the Master Sword, you also took on the responsibility of a Hero. Specifically, the Hero of Time. You were destined to be the hero, but when you first gripped the sword you were too young to fulfill the destiny. And so, I took you into the Sacred Realm, to protect and guard your mortal body while you aged. It has been six and one half years since you touched the Sword, Link." Rauru spoke with as much gentleness as he could muster. My eyes nearly pop out of my head.

"Six-six and a half years?" I manage to choke out. "What about . . . my friends, everyone I knew . . . I just disappeared on them for almost seven years?" I drop into a crouch in disbelief, my head in my hands. Navi flutters near my ear, stroking my hair and murmuring assurances.

"I understand how hard this is for you, Link. You will find that much of Hyrule has changed. However, I also believe that you will find friends to help you along the way. Now, you really must be going." My head starts to snap up, a protest only just starting to form in my head, as Rauru waves his hand. A beam of golden light falls over me and Navi, growing steadily brighter. I throw my arms around my face to protect my eyes. Such a bright light!

"Until we meet again, young Hero," Rauru says with a bow. A moment later, the light reaches its peak and vanishes, taking me and my fairy with.

XXXX

I slowly drop my arms as the light fades, and find myself crouching in front of the pedestal where I had first seen the Master Sword.

"Navi? Are you all right?" Navi flutters in front of me, nodding.

"Yes. I'm fine. Are you?" I look at her, and sigh. Apparently, fairies _are_ good at reading people.

"You don't mean physically, do you?"

"Nope. The passage of time isn't noticed by fairies; we live as long as there is magic for us to draw upon, if we so chose. But you have missed so much of your life. What are you going to do?" She rests a tiny hand on my hair.

"I think I'll be ok. I just need some time." I grin wirily at my own pun, and slowly stand.

Wait . . . back up. I'm grown up now, right? So that means I'm not a Kokiri . . . right? So why do I have a fairy?

"Navi . . . what's going on? Why are you my partner if I'm not a Kokiri?" I ask, turning to her. She gapes at me as the same thought finally comes to her.

"I-I don't know. The Deku Tree said . . . that you needed me. I didn't need another reason. Besides, it felt . . . right, you know?"

"Yeah . . . yeah, it did, didn't it?" I respond, thinking. All those monsters we faced . . . I was scared out of my wits, but with Navi there, well, I didn't feel like I was alone.

"Well, we aren't gonna get any answers standing here. I guess first thing to do is look around outside." I step down off of the Master Sword's dais and head for the entrance. I'm about to push the doors open when a voice stops me.

"I wouldn't do that just yet. Quite a bit has changed since you last set foot in Castle Town." I whirl, my hand automatically pulling my sword free of its scabbard. Wait-I can barely use a sword! Sure, I beat up two or three monsters when I was 11, but still . . .

I shake my thoughts away as I find myself facing a young man, standing calmly with his arms crossed. His blonde hair pokes out of the shawl wrapped around his head, and his purple, white, and blue skin suit shows off every muscle.

"Who are you?" I ask in as strong a voice as I can muster. Sadly, it's pretty weak. The man in front of me waves his hand in an almost dismissive manner.

"My name is Sheik. I am a Sheikah warrior." He places his fist against an open palm in front his chest and bows. "I have been waiting for you, Hero of Time." My sword slowly drops until the tip is touching the stone floor. That dumb title again . . .

"Where did you hear that?" I ask, apprehension coloring my tone.

"I know many things." It's hard to tell, but I would swear that he-Sheik?-is smirking under his shawl. "When evil rules all, Link, a voice from the Sacred Realm rings out across the land, calling to those destined to be Sages. These Sages dwell within five temples; one, deep in forest; one on a high mountain; one beneath a vast lake; one in the house of the dead; and one within a goddess of sand. Together, joined with the Hero of Time, the Sages shall bind evil and return the world to a state of peace within the light. This is the legend of the five temples, as passed down by the Sheikah." My eyebrows are raised so high in skepticism it feels like they're going to disappear into my hairline. I barely even register the fact that he called me by name.

"When I see you, holding the mythical Master Sword, I feel as though you truly are the legendary Hero. If you believe in this legend, then you have no choice but to search for the five temples and awaken the Sages that sleep within. First you must awaken the Forest Sage. This Sage is a girl you once knew . . . but because of the evil residing in the temple, she cannot hear the call of the Sacred Realm. Unfortunately, you do not yet posses the proper equipment to enter the temple. But if you believe me, you will journey to Kakariko and visit Dampé. Do you understand, Link?" My jaw drops, joining my sword on the floor. A forest sage, an old grave-digger I met maybe twice, a girl I used to know? What?

"There is one final thing. There will come a time when you need to return to this Temple quickly. I will teach you the song of the Temple. This song will return you here when you play it on the Ocarina of Time. Now, learn the Prelude of Light!" Sheik pulls a harp off of his back, and begins to play a sweet and light melody. I slip my sword into its scabbard on my back and reach into my pouch. My ocarina should be . . . there! Placing it against my lips, I close my eyes and listen to Sheik's harp, trying to pick out the notes. Before I can make sense of them, my fingers start to move of their own accord. I let go and follow my instincts. After all, what else is there to do? A small part of my brain notes that the melody Sheik is playing has shifted, and the two instruments are producing a duet. As the sweeping finale fades, I open my eyes. Sheik has already slipped his harp onto his back.

"This melody will serve to return you here."

"Wait!" I say. "How can that be? If I'm the only one playing, how can I create a duet?" My confused expression must have been hilarious, because Sheik seemed to shake like he was suppressing laughter.

"You misunderstood. Simply the melody of the song will return you here. The duet is not required. We will meet again, Link." His hand rises above his head and sweeps toward the ground. A bright flash of light, and he's gone. I blink rapidly, trying to clear my vision.

"Talk about your flashy exits," Navi comments.

"Damn! Could the guy use any more deku nuts? Hey, do you think that he's related to Impa? She did the same thing when we met her," I rub my eyes, trying to see past the residual glare. Navi shrugs impatiently.

"Maybe. They're both Sheikah, right? It would make sense if they were. But that leads to my next question. We trusted Impa; should we trust him?" It's my turn to shrug.

"I don't see another option. I mean, it's been six and a half years. We don't even know what Hyrule looks like anymore. I guess we'll head to Kakariko. I wonder how Dampé's doing?"

XXXX

"Faster! RUN!" Navi shouts. A horde of re-deads are shuffling after me. Yeah, they aren't really fast, but they're still freakin' scary!

"Stay back!" I slash my sword at one that was getting a little too close and continue running. I can see the drawbridge up ahead, broken in the moat. I put my sword away and run flat out, doing my best to reach the water. I had heard somewhere that re-deads won't cross running water. With a final leap, I land on the other side of the moat, rolling to absorb the shock. I glance back to see all the re-deads staring at me, standing right on the edge of the moat. A sigh of relief manages to escape. Thank the Goddesses I had remembered about the water!

Wait. Where had I heard that? I'd never even heard of a re-dead until today, when Navi started shouting at me. . .

"Link? Are you alright?" I look up to see Navi fluttering in front of me, a concerned expression on her tiny face. I manage a weak nod.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just didn't expect re-deads to have replaced the population of Castle Town. It used to be so lively." I shake my head to clear it and stand.

"Oh, ha-ha, Mr. Funny. Look! It's Lon Lon Ranch. Do you want to see Malon?" Navi asks. I duck my head and shuffle my feet.

"I . . . I don't know. I mean, I barely knew the girl before I got pulled into the Sacred Realm." Navi watches my bowed head for a moment.

"Oh, who cares?" She throws her hands up in the air. "You obviously think the girl is cute. Why don't you stop by and see her?" My own head snaps up at her comment.

"Navi! I didn't-I don't-she isn't cute!" I huff indignantly. Navi merely crosses her arms and cocks her head.

"Are you coming or not, lover boy?" With that, she takes off for Lon Lon.

"Navi! Navi, wait! Come back! We're supposed to be going to Kakariko!" I shout, chasing after her.

"Only if you can catch me!" She turns and blows a raspberry at me with out slowing down.

_Thump!_

"Navi! Navi, are you all right?" I yell frantically. I cover the last few feet with a leap and manage to catch her before she hits the ground. She sits up on my palm, holding her head.

"Em fine," she mumbles. "Didn see the wall."

"I guess not! Try to watch where you're going next time, ok?" I tell her, concerned. She nods slowly, doing her best to avoid sudden movements. I smile mischievously. "Why don't you rest under my hat for a while? That way you can stay safe until you get your bearings back." Without waiting for an answer, I lift her and slowly deposit her on my head before replacing my hat. Ha! Teach her to make fun of me!

I walk around the wall Navi had hit to find the entrance to Lon Lon. I head up the hill, imagining what Malon is going to say to me. She'll probably call me 'Fairy Boy'. Again.

I poke my head in the barn first, to see if I can find Talon working. Instead, a young woman with red hair and a white dress is standing there with a pail in her hands.

"Excuse me-" My breath catches when she looks up. It's Malon!

"Hello. Welcome to Lon Lon Ranch. If you wish to see the owner, please step out to the corral and see Mr. Ingo." She says in a monotone. Alarm bells start jangling in the back of my mind.

"Malon, what's wrong? Why is Ingo running the ranch? What about your dad?" I place my hand on her shoulder, trying to look at her. Her eyes stare back at me vacantly before she steps away and repeats the message. I back out of the barn, a confused look etched onto my face.

Okay, that was weird. Could Malon have switched personalities in the last couple of years? I shake my head and go to find Ingo. I spot him standing outside the corral.

"Hello!" I call out, forcing cheer into my voice.

"Have you come to ride the horses? I must tell you, everyone in Hyrule says that I breed the best horses. Even Ganondorf himself!" The man says. He even manages to sound off-handed, even though I can tell he is gleefully displaying his position for all to see. I glance at the horses. I'm not positive, but they look like grown up versions of the ones I saw the last time I was here. So the guy's a liar as well as a pompous idiot. Joy.

I open my mouth to demand an explanation when a flash of red catches my eye. I turn my head and spot Epona in the corral. An overwhelming desire to ride her burns through me.

"How much?" I ask tersely.

"Ten rupees for three minutes!" Ingo announces. I flip a yellow rupee at him and slip into the corral. "Your time starts now!" He shouts behind me. I reach a hand out for Epona, but she shies and runs away. I stare after her in shock. I was nice, right? I didn't scare her! So what was the problem? Suddenly, my eyes widen as I remember our first meeting.

"My ocarina," I mutter. I pull it out of my pouch, and place it against my lips, trying to remember the song. Again, my fingers seem to move of their own accord, and the melody flows out of me. Epona perks up at the notes, and trots back to nudge my arm. I place a hand on her nose, rubbing it affectionately while I study her saddle. A realization hits me.

I've never ridden a horse before! Ever! Now what am I supposed to do? I carefully slip my foot into a strap hanging by her side and slowly lift myself up. I settle in the saddle. My first thought: the stupid thing is uncomfortable. Who rides in these things for fun?

A light flick of the reins in my hands starts her walking. I lean forward a bit more and she moves into a trot. A heavier smack and she starts to gallop. I feel a sudden shift in her weight. I open my mouth, but she leaps into the air before anything can get out. She lands on the other side of a short fence, and I just manage to stay in the saddle. With a little whinny that sounds like she's mocking me, she turns and heads for the next fence.

"Epona! No, no, no!" She ignores my shout and leaps again. This time I only stay in my seat because I'm hanging onto her mane for dear life. She turns and starts cantering around the corral, swerving left and right around other horses. My stomach tries to rebel, but I clap my lips firmly shut against it. Suddenly, I see Ingo standing by the gate, smirking, like he knew along that I couldn't ride. Fury erupts in me, pushing everything else out of the way.

"Whoa!" I shout as I yank on the reins. Epona is so startled that she rears up onto her hind legs before she settles down. I pull her around and face Ingo. His eyebrow has nearly disappeared into his hairline.

"I'm impressed, youngster. You seem like you know how to handle a horse. What do you say to little wager? Say, fifty rupees? One lap around the track." I watch him for a moment. Is he being greedy, or is it just to see how I'll react?

You know what? It doesn't matter. I'll win.

I nod again, pulling slightly on the reins as Epona tries to prance. She's acting like she's furious, like me. But that's silly. Horses can't feel emotions . . .

"Ready?" Ingo opens the gate and allows me to lead Epona to the white line, marking the start and end of the track. Ingo pulls golden stallion with a black mane out of the corral and hoists him self on top. He struggles quite a bit, too. Must not get much practice riding his 'best breeds'.

"3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . . go!" He shouts, and spurs his horse into action. I barely tap Epona with my heels and she's off like a shot. We round the first bend; we're neck-in-neck at the second. A long straightaway stretches in front of us, allowing ample room to pass Ingo.

"Hyah!" I cry with another tap, urging Epona faster and faster. She stretches her stride and in one, two, three leaps she's past Ingo's horse and rounding the third bend. By the fourth bend I'm half a horse length in front of him, and we stay that way across the finish line. I pull Epona to a walk and direct her around to the start line. Ingo is on the ground, writhing and pulling at his hair.

"Noooo!" He cries. "How could this happen? How could I lose? With this-with that boy-that-that unwieldy horse!" Abruptly, he is back on his feet, staring at me from under his bushy eyebrows-who has eyebrows that bushy anyway? A deku scrub could hid in there!-while his mouth worked like he wanted to spit.

"Fine! Another race!" he declared. "If you win . . . if you win, you get to keep the horse!"

My own eyebrow shot up in surprise. He doesn't seem like the kind to lose it, but then again, the last time I met him he was in trouble because of gambling . . . I glance down at Epona. Her head is turned to watch me, and she nickers softly. I lean down to rub her neck.

"You're right. We can take 'em." I whisper as my cocky grin settles onto my face. I look back up at Ingo. "I agree. If I win, I keep Epona."

Ingo didn't even bother with an acknowledgment. He simply pulled himself back up on his horse and repositioned himself at the starting line. I guided Epona next to him, and he counted down again.

We were off, starting in much the same fashion as last time. When we got to the straightaway, I started to push Epona ahead again. I spot a flash of gold out of the corner of my eye and instinctively yank on Epona's reins. Epona slows down for an instant and Ingo careens to the side, pulling his horse in front of us.

That low-life cheat! He was trying to force us into the fence!

"Hyah!" I shout again, leaning as close to Epona as I dare to communicate my urgency. She tosses her head in acknowledgment and pours on the speed, taking the remaining corners at dangerous speeds. We inch our way forward as we near the finish line. At the last possible moment, Epona lunges, crossing the line half a length in front of Ingo.

"Yeah!" I pump my fist in the air, shouting my victory for the world to hear. Epona nickers in agreement and suddenly rears, nearly throwing me off. "Whoa! Slow down, girl! We won. We won." She settles down and I rub her neck affectionately, glancing behind to me to look for Ingo. With a shock, I realize that his horse is standing there, looking bored, with an empty saddle. My head cranes to both sides, looking for him. A glint of light catches my eye, and I turn Epona around to find Ingo closing the gate to the ranch, effectively locking us in.

"Ingo! What in the name of Din are you doing?" I shout at him furiously. The rage I felt earlier is back, and building. I can feel my hands tightening on the reins, and the edges of my vision are turning black.

"How could this happen? That was a wild horse, and untamable horse! It was supposed to be a gift to King Ganondorf!" Ingo wails, ignoring me. "I can't let it leave the ranch. I just can't! Do you have any idea what he will do to me?" He was nearly crying, now. "I don't want to disobey him . . . but I gave my word . . . fine! You get to keep the horse. But you can never leave!" He screams at me. It's nearly incoherent. I open my mouth to tell him exactly what I think of Ganondorf and this idiot excuse for a ranch owner, when a sharp pain in my skull jerks me up short.

"Owowowow! What the-" I pull my hat off and Navi flutters in front of me, looking pissed.

"You dumb little Kokiri! You forgot about me! You got so busy racing and showing off that you _forgot I was under your hat!_ Do you know how hard it was to hang on? Do you know how many times I nearly fell _off?_" She ranted, zipping back and forth in short burst and throwing her hands about. I'm still rubbing my head where she tried to pull my hair out.

"Hey! Calm down! I'm sorry, ok? Yes, I forgot you were under there. I'm sorry." Navi glares at me with her arms crossed. A few tense moments pass before she sighs.

"Alright. I believe you. But don't you dare to do that again!" I nod quickly. Then I turn to look at Ingo again.

"You heard us?" Navi nodded. "Great. Any ideas on how to get out now?" I ask. Personally, I'm at a loss. There's one exit to the ranch, and that's it, so how . . . Wait!

My head snaps up, startling Navi. I turn in the saddle, looking at the wooden fence behind me. "Navi, will you fly over the fence and tell me how far to the ground it is?" Navi looks at me quizzically, but does as I ask. She comes back a moment later.

"It's about twelve feet," she says. I sit still for a moment more, rapidly thinking through my other options. There aren't many.

"Alright. Let's go, Epona!" I wheel her around to face the fence and tap her with my heels. She takes off, straight into a cantor.

"Link! Wait! What are you doing?" Navi shouts at me. I ignore her, all my concentration focused on Epona. With one final stride she leaps, clearing the fence. We seem to hang in the air for a moment before she hits the ground with enough force to knock my head around.

"Link!" I glance up at Navi as she joins me. "That was brilliant! Stupid, but brilliant!" I frown a little, trying to decide if that was a complement or an insult. Well, who cares? We got out, right? Now we can head to Kakariko!

XXXX

"Dampé was the gravedigger, right? So we should head to the graveyard." Navi flutters ahead of me, dancing in the air.

"That would make sense, wouldn't it?" She glared at my joke, and took off for the back corner of Kakariko. I set off in a slow walk, not really concerned with losing sight of her. I examine the town around me, noting that the construction project was finished, and the well seems to be empty. There is little activity, but I chalk that up to it being nighttime. But I keep feeling like the curtains in the houses are flipping open as soon as I look away. I finally catch up with Navi, who was tapping her toe impatiently, and we enter the graveyard.

"Wow. It's gone a bit downhill, huh?" She comments. I nod silently, taking in the cracked headstones, overgrown paths, and the abundant number of weeds.

"Wait . . . Link, come look." Navi have fluttered over to the newest gravestone. I walk up behind her, and my eyes fall to the name inscribed on the stone.

Dampé.

I slowly sink to my knees in front of the grave, sadness overwhelming me. I had met Dampé when I was still a kid. He was kind, and he told me funny jokes. And I was the only kid he had ever taken on the Graveyard Tour. I sigh and shift around so my back is leaning up against the headstone.

"Now what?" I crack one eye open to look at Navi. Her arms are crossed and she looks more than a little indignant. "Sheik sent us on a wild cuckoo chase!" I open my mouth to reply without thinking, but whatever I was going to say was interrupted by a slight groan. I start to stand up when the headstone behind me gives way, and I fall into the darkness.

XXXX

The first sensation is pain. Right in the back of my skull, like I had smacked it against something hard. As my other senses slowly return, I realize that the air is warm, and a slight flickering light behind me is providing at least some illumination. I blink as my eyes come back into focus, and I find Navi floating above me, a concerned look pulling at her face. I sit up very slowly, holding my head in my hand.

"Finally! You're up!" Navi's tone was in complete contradiction with her words, prompting me to smile.

"Ah, were you worried about me?" I tease. She huffs indignantly and turns away. I laugh at her a bit, and slowly stand. I glance around, taking in the rough hewn walls and the fire post that is providing the light. Everything has a warm, damp feel to it. Underground? Probably. It had felt a bit like this in Dodongoo's cavern.

I turn to face the other direction and freeze. Before me floats a large ghost! My hand slowly sneaks up to grasp my sword. I don't have any idea what to do with it, but maybe I can-

"Link! So good of you to visit!" I start when the ghost suddenly speaks. What in the name of the Goddesses is going on? And how does he know my nam-

"I am so blessed! Two visitors in one day. And my dear little Link, look how you have grown! So big. I remember when you were just a little tyke, all those years ago, and plucky enough to convince me to give you the Tour! Why, you're the only child to ever do that . . ." The ghost rambled on but my jaw is slack. The Tour? That could only mean . . .

"Dampé!" The ghost looks up at his name.

"What? Huh? Yes, that is my name. What do you need, Link?" Happiness fills me, overwhelming my fear.

"Dampé! I thought you were dead. It's so good to see you again!" I move closer to him, but he drifts away. His eyes are sad.

"Oh, Link. Grown up in body but not in mind, hm? Link, I am dead. My spirit is bound to this earth because of my unfinished business. When I complete it, I will fade away." I stop, brought up short by this revelation.

"But . . . Dampé . . ." My words fail me. He drifts forward a bit, and reaches a hand out like he wants to place it on my shoulder, but he draws it back.

"I understand, Link. Death is a hard thing to accept." We stay that way for several minutes, with his hand half-reached out to me.

"Well! I have an idea." He states suddenly, lifting his lamp. "How abouts a little race? Come quickly, now!" And he takes off, straight through a solid wall.

"Wait-!" I call, stumbling after him. I put a hand against the wall and fall straight through, finding myself in a long tunnel lit with dim torches on the other side.

"Come on, then!" Dampé shouts at me from the end of the passageway. He turns the corner and keeps going. I bolt to my feet, check to make sure Navi is with me, and take off after him.

I chase him for what seems to be hours, following him through twists and turns, climbing walls and jumping chasms. He always stays right at the farthest edge of my vision, sometimes slipping out of sight. Every time I think that I've lost him, a small flame pops up in the path that he took.

Eventually, he leads me to a room with a path curling up around the edge of a pit, and I can see the out line of doors at the top of the spiral. That has to be where he's heading!

I put on a burst of speed and just manage to slip through the archway before a rock wall slams into place behind me. I bend over, panting. Guess almost seven years asleep doesn't do much for staying in shape!

"Well done, Link! You're only the second person to have ever successfully followed me!" I look up at that, a little concerned by the implication.

"Does that mean everyone else got trapped in the tunnels?" I manage to get out. Dampé laughs at me brightly.

"No! The tunnels can sense when someone has lost, and will lead them back out of danger. Of course, they're usually so hungry and thirsty by that point that they think I'm a hallucination!" He cackles at that thought, and I start to think that the Dampé I had known may not be all here anymore, if you know what I mean. I glance around the room I'm in, taking in the details.

That's how I notice the chest sitting on the ground behind Dampé, open. Didn't Sheik say something about Dampé having a tool for me?

"Hey, Dampé," I say slowly. "Where is the other person who managed to follow you?" Dampé waves at the back wall, which disappeared.

"Back there!" He manages to gasp out around his chuckles. With that, he slowly fades, and the lamp he held zooms by me and through the stone wall. I hope that doesn't mean that he's moved on; I'd like to come back and talk to him a bit more, one day. I move forward, gently probing into the tunnel behind to opposite wall. The passage way has no torches, and would have been pitch black if Navi hadn't fluttered in front of me. Together, we walk along slowly, ready for anything. I slow down even further as I hear noises up ahead. Footsteps . . . the sound of something soft against a rock . . . and a frustrated sigh.

I finally move forward far enough to see a large blue block, and someone standing in front of it with their hands planted on it. The person grunts, and I can tell they're pushing against the block, to no avail. Navi moves a little farther forward, enough to cast some light on the person.

Shiny hair is pulled back in a ponytail, but it's impossible to tell the color in the blue light. I move closer and make out a light tunic, breeches, boots, and gauntlets on the hands of the person-a girl? I take one more step, and the person in front of me stiffens. Suddenly, she pulls out a knife and has it against my throat, and pushes me back against a wall.

"Who are you?" She asks. She has a shock of bangs framing her face, which stand out as a lighter color than the rest of her hair. Wait . . . is that a blindfold?

"I'm not going to hurt you," I gasp out. She holds me still for a second more before releasing me.

"You're lucky I was taught how to read people," she lectures as she puts her knife away in her belt. "Otherwise I might have cut your head off for trying to fool me." Her voice is laughing, but the look on her face is deadly serious. I can tell even without being able to see her eyes.

I clear my throat a little awkwardly. "So, uh, why are you here? And if I can ask with out getting butchered-"she smiles at that"-what's with the blindfold?" She gestures back down the tunnel to the maze behind us.

"Following Dampé was a final test of sorts. I had to use every sense except sight to track him. I'm almost done, too; I just have to get past this stupid block!" She slaps the aforementioned block, and abruptly pulls her hand back. "Ow," she mutters. "I've been trying for at least an hour, but the dumb thing won't budge." She says a little louder.

"Umm . . . I hate to interrupt. But isn't this symbol familiar?" Navi asks as she examined the block. I move forward to look with her, but the girl beside me frowns.

"Who is that? I only sense you," she says. I start to shrug, but stop as I realize she can't see me.

"My fairy," I respond.

"A fairy? Oh, come _on_. You must be joking." I ignore her as I examine the symbol. Now that Navi mentioned it, it is kinda familiar . . .

"The Temple of Time!" I gasp. I had seen the same symbol embedded in the first platform I crossed inside the temple. And . . . the melody I learned to open the door . . .

I slowly bring my ocarina to my lips-the blue one Princess Zelda had given me. I don't know why, but I feel like this won't work with Saria's. I allow the melody to flow out of me, just like last time. As soon as the first notes ring through the tunnel, the girl turns ridged. I finish the song, and the block in front of me disappears. When I turn back to the girl, I find myself staring into the largest pair of eyes I have ever seen.

She seems as shocked as I am, although that might be because of the giant blue block I just made disappear.

"You . . . you're . . ." Does she know me? I don't remember ever having seen her before, though. Suddenly she snaps out of her paralysis and grabs my arms, shaking me.

"I can't believe it! You're here! You're actually HERE!" My eyes widen and I extract myself from her grip, a little disturbed.

"Ok, I'm not sure who you think I am but-" she cuts me off before I can finish.

"Oh, I told them you would come! They all thought that you had abandoned us, but I knew better! I knew you would come." Tears of joy-I hope-were streaming down her face, like I was her long lost hero or something. She grabs my hand and hauls me after her, up the stairs the block revealed.

"Come on! You have to meet everyone. We've been waiting for you!" She chatters as she pulls me along. I try to yank my hand out of her grasp, but she just tightens her grip and moves faster. In a few moments, we emerge onto a small wooden platform above a turning wood something while crazy music played in the background. She jumps right off the platform, dragging me with her, and rushes past a guy playing some kind of wind up instrument way too fast, and then we burst out into the sunshine. The sunshine? I was down there all _night_!

"Can you slow _down_?" I manage to gasp. "I don't even know you!" She glances over her shoulder at me, her bangs bouncing around her face.

"Don't worry about it!" She insists. "Jen! Jen, where are you!" She shouts as she turns to face forward again. I suddenly notice that her hair is bright red, and her bangs are a shocking shade of white. But who the heck is this girl? I _know_ she's not Malon . . .

She takes a sharp turn past a building, climbs a set of stairs, brushes past a palace guard-a place guard? Here?-and bursts into a house where three people sit.

"Jen! Jen, you'll never believe who I found in the tunnels!" She gasps, pulling my closer and pushing me towards a woman with long brown hair. The woman-Jen?-looks up from her conversation and studies me, interested. The other woman she's sitting is still focused on something on the table, but the boy stares at me in shock.

I glance back and forth between all four of them, unsure of what to do. I open my mouth to speak when I hear a frantic tapping at the door. The girl who dragged me in here opens it, and Navi zooms past her to flutter around me.

"Oh my goddesses, Link! You almost left me in that tunnel!" She shouts at me. I shrug uncomfortably.

"I'm sorry, Navi, but this girl dragged me out of there so fast I almost left my hat!" I respond, glancing at the girl. I do a double take as I notice the triumphant grin on her face, and I look at the other three, two of which are sitting with their mouths on the floor in shock.

"Umm . . . would someone mind filling me in?" I ask, a little desperate. Their jaws slowly click shut as they regard me. I shift uncomfortably, adjusting my hat and my sword. Something on the hilt must have caught the brunette's eye, because they snapped to the sword and stayed there.

"The Master Sword . . ." She murmurs. "It must be . . ." She stands and reaches forward to touch the hilt, but I instinctively move backwards, just out of her reach.

"Either someone explains what's going on, or I'm leaving!" I declare, pointing my finger at the woman in front of me. Ok, so maybe thinking I could win a four on one is a little unrealistic, but I am not staying here while strange people I don't even know stare at me!

"I'm sorry. That was terribly rude of me, as well as of Jaz," the woman says with a short glare tossed at the red head. "My name is Jen. This is Jazmyn, Leyan, and Impa." She points to the red-head, the boy, and the other woman in turn. I blink at Impa's name.

"I-Impa?" I manage to stammer. The other woman at the table finally looks up, and I recognize her white hair and red eyes. She has new lines in her face, and something is casting a shadow over her face.

"Link; how unexpected." She says with the same stinginess I remember. She stands slowly, eyeing me from head to toe.

"Yeah, well . . . apparently I have a knack for popping up in unexpected places," I respond, still shifting nervously.

"Would . . . would you like to sit down?" The boy asked. I would almost swear he sounds as nervous as I am. The boy-I think his name is Leyan-pulls out the chair next to him, inviting me to sit. I move forward slowly, my eyes dashing in all directions as I try to watch everyone at once.

Jen has sat again, staring at the table vacantly. Leyan looks like a skittish horse, and I catch a glimpse of Jazmyn filling a glass of water and gulping it down.

Impa is still standing, watching me with something like disbelief in her eyes-but that can't be right. Impa never shows emotion . . . not even when she's concerned . . . My mind goes blank for an instant, and suddenly the world is gone.

"_Look out!" I duck as Navi screams at me, and I just managed to avoid the arms of an incredibly quick re-dead. I slice my sword sidewise, cutting it in half, before moving forward. The remains of the market flash by me, and the looming castle finally comes into view. _

"_Zelda!" I gasp, concentrating on three things at once. That bastard Ganondorf had grabbed her right out of the Temple, and if he thought I was gonna let that go, he had another thing coming. _

_Navi leads the way up the familiar path, but we both skid to a stop at the unfamiliar sight before us._

_What the hell?_

"_A_ lava_ moat? Seriously?" Navi cries in frustration. I walk slowly up to edge, peeking down the vast crater._

"_Looks like the top of Death_ _Mountain." I mutter. I glance at the entrance to the castle, set almost directly across from me. If there was only some way to reach it . . . _

"_Link!" I look up in surprise as someone shouts my name. _

"_Impa?" I stumble backwards in shock as I see a ghostly image of Impa in front of me. _

"_Of course," she says cryptically, like always. "Are you alright? Where is Zelda?" She asks, a hint of desperation trying to creep into her voice. _

_I freeze at that. Impa, showing emotion? That means she can't feel Zelda . . . _

_I gesture at the castle._

"_Ganondorf has her," I grit out through my teeth. Impa's eyebrows draw together ever so slightly at that. She glances below her at the lava that she's floating over._

"_We can help," She says shortly. "Release our medallions." I hold out my hand, concentrating. A bight flash of light-_

-"Link! Link, please, wake up!" Someone is shoving at my shoulder, probably trying to wake me, but only succeeding at dragging my head across the table. I swat weakly at the hand, plant my other one on the table and heave my head upright.

All the blood drains from my face and my forehead immediately ends up planted on the table again.

"Oww," I complain. I sit up again, much slower, propping my head on both hands to keep me up. Everyone is standing, obviously trying to figure out what to do with a guy who suddenly fainted on their table.

"Are you all right?" I shift my head slightly and find myself staring into a pair of shocking red-gold eyes.

"I-I think I'll be ok. Can I have some water, please?" I croak. I shut up immediately, scowling. I hate it when my voice deserts me. I remember this one time when I couldn't talk, and Saria was taking care of me, so Mido was-

"Here." My train of thought is derailed when Jazmyn sets a tall cup in front of me and sits on the other side of the table. I carefully reach one hand out and pick the cup up, slowly tilting it as I drink, trying not to move my head. My headache slowly starts to recede as the water cools my throat.

"Umm . . . I hate to ask, but what happened?" Jazmyn asked slowly. I shrug my shoulders and instantly regret it.

"I haven't the faintest idea," I say, wincing as my neck complains about the movement.

"I-"

"Link! You should go to bed." Impa said, interrupting me.

"In fact, why don't we get you to a bed right now?" Jen says, jumping in before I can even protest.

I stare at the two of them, flabbergasted. There is no way they could know that I just saw . . . what the hell did I just see?

I open my mouth-to say what, I don't know-when Jazmyn grabbed one arm. Leyan gingerly placed his hands on my other arm, avoiding my hand entirely. Together, they heave me to my feet, which caused the world to spin.

I think I fainted then, because the next thing I knew, I was staring at the ceiling from my back. I think I might have been dropped on the floor, but then I realize I'm laying on something soft and the sunlight is slanting through the western window, which means some time must have passed.

I sit up slowly, relieved to find that I can move without wanting to vomit. Some fruits are on a tray next to the bed, and I wolf them down almost before I can blink.

I stretch, popping out all the cramps, when I finally realize that my sword is gone, along with my pouch, hat, and fairy.

"Navi?" I stumble out of the bed, glancing around the small room for her.

"Navi!" I make it to the hallway without falling, but by the time I reach the stairs I have to lean against a wall, fighting to stop the dizziness. I slump to the floor as I try to hold everything around me still.

Bam!

"Dammit!"

A large form trips over me, falling flat against the landing with a book next to it. I rub my shins, and try to lean forward to help. The form manages to pull itself to a sideways sitting position, brushing its blonde hair out of its eyes, when I finally recognize Leyan.

"I'm sorry," I manage. "Are you alright?" He waves a hand to brush away my concern.

"Oh, sure. I take hard falls all the time." He looks me straight in the eye, with piercing blue eyes. Where have I seen eyes like that before . . .

"What about you?" His question snaps me back to the present.

"I'm looking for Navi. I got dizzy," I explain, trying to shake off my sense of déjà vu.

"Oh, is that all? Come on, she's downstairs."


	7. Chapter 6

Author's Notes:

…..I feel like a bad author. It's been six months since my last update….My apologies! Life, you know? At the risk of this sounding like an excuse, my family did move over the summer…

Anyway! It's up now! I'm very happy with this chapter; it covered everything I wanted and actually sounds good. As usual, I don't own anything in the Zelda universe, but any character you don't recognize is probably mine.

As always, please review if you have comments, questions or suggestions!

Thank you for reading!

Firebird29

Chapter 6

"Oh, Link, I'm glad you're awake." Jazmyn says brightly as I work my way down the stairs, Leyan a step or two in front of me. I grasp at the railing with one hand, trying to not let my legs shake.

I finally reach the bottom of the stairs, and I collapse instantly into a chair, slumping onto the table. I lift my head when a plate clunks down in front of me. Jazmyn smiles at me, and then turns to finish serving herself and Leyan. I look down at the food and blink in surprise.

"What's this?" I ask, puzzled by the lumpy yellow things that had brown chunks scattered in them. Jazmyn smiles again.

"I talked a lot with Navi this morning. She said you really only ate vegetables as a kid; unfortunately, those are a bit sparse around here. So you can have scrambled eggs and sausage, instead." I only look at the food dubiously.

"What's it made of?" I ask suspiciously. Jazmyn's smile falters for a moment before she responds.

"Cuckoo eggs. The sausage is made from pork. Pig meat," she clarifies.

"Oh, don't be such a wuss." My head snaps up as I hear Navi's voice. I spot her sitting on a shelf behind Jazmyn's head, stretching. She cracks her neck before she continues speaking. "They're quite good, actually; much more nutritious than those veggies you ate all the time." She flutters down to me, perching on my shoulder. "Go on, eat!" She encourages.

I pick up my fork and scoop up a bite of eggs, chewing slowly. It's . . . actually really good! I dig in with gusto, shoveling them in as fast as I can chew.

"Oh, Link, I almost forgot-" Jazmyn starts, but then the front door slams open and the guard who had been outside rushed in.

"Jaz! Quick, they're coming!" He gasps as he starts shedding his armor and stuffing it beneath the floorboards. Wait. Beneath the floorboards?

Jazmyn reacts instantly, jumping up to shut the door. She turns to look at Leyan, her eyes hard.

"Take Link upstairs; get him in one of your tunics. The green is too distinctive." She orders. I start to protest, wondering what in Hyrule is happening, when Leyan grabs my arm and hauls me up the stairs. He rushes through a door into a messy room, already slipping out of his own bluish-purple tunic.

"Come on, you heard her! Get your tunic off, you can borrow one of mine!" He throws one at me as he speaks, grabbing out a second for himself. I reluctantly pull mine off, and he snatches it from me and stuffs it behind a drawer in his dresser. He turns away to start back downstairs, still pulling his tunic on, when I notice the scar.

"Wait!" I call involuntarily. He stops short, looking surprised.

"What?" He demands. "We have to get back downstairs-"

"That scar on the back of your neck," I interrupt. "I have one just like it." I turn around then, showing him mine. I'd gotten it while I was a kid, back in the forest; I'd been attempting the backflip off my deck, and…well, let's just say it had gone badly. Saria had done her best to patch me up, but nobody had had a fairy spirit right then, so it had healed with a fairly noticeable scar. I turn back to Leyan, whose face is contorted into a frown.

"Weird," he comments. "But we don't have time to trade stories. Come on!" He orders, taking the stairs two at a time. He lands rather heavily on the landing, scrambling for a moment before he can gather himself together.

"Navi, I'm sorry about this, but you need to hide," Jazmyn was saying from across the room. I took one glance at her and stopped short for a double take. The Jazmyn from five minutes ago was gone; in her place sat a proper young girl, clothed in a fine dress with her hair pulled up in a net of pale thread, feeding wool into a spinning wheel. Where did the wheel come from-?

"Link!" Leyan calls. "Go do the dishes; try to look natural, ok?" I gape at him, bewildered. First, they make me change. Then they make my fairy hide. Now they want me to do the dishes?

"What in Hyrule is going on-?" I start, but Jazmyn interrupts me.

"We'll explain later. Just do it! Leyan, don't forget your earring." She says, turning back to her spinning. Somehow, she managed to look completely natural, like she did this everyday.

I am so confused.

I turn to catch Leyan yanking a small blue hoop from his left ear and sticking it beneath his chair before pulling out a block of wood and a small carving knife. He began to carve at the table, little curlicues of wood shavings falling down.

I hesitantly pick up the first of the dishes, turning towards the sink. My hand unconsciously reaches up towards my own left ear . . . to find a small hoop poked through the flesh. I pull it out, staring at the small blue ring. Where in Farore's name did that come from?

A heavy banging at the front door startles me. Jazmyn stands, smoothing her skirts, and moves forward to open it. She pauses just before her hand reaches the handle, and makes a little shooing gesture at me. I turn back to the sink, my hand automatically tipping to drop the earring down my boot.

I attack the dishes with vigor as Jazmyn opens the door.

"Yes?" She inquires politely.

"Monthly sweep, miss." A rough voice replies. Jazmyn steps back into the house, and I catch the glimpse of two large brown _somethings_ standing outside the door. I tense, expecting I don't know what, but only two thin men in armor enter the house.

"Good day, miss." One nods respectfully to Jazmyn, while the other begins a visual search of the house.

"Where is your mother today?" He inquires. Jazmyn smiles at him pleasantly.

"She left to see an old friend. She told us not to expect her until tomorrow." The man nods, marking something on his board.

"And your father?"

"In the storage room. Father! The inspectors are here!" Jazmyn calls, and the guard from earlier emerged, carrying a lump of smoked meat.

"Ah! What a delightful surprise!" He exclaims, setting the meat next to me on the counter. "Tell me, Lorwn, how is your family?" He said brightly, moving forward to shake the man's hand.

"Quite well, thank you, Bren." Lorwn responds. "Let us see . . . Wife, daughter and son accounted for . . . but who is this?" He asks, finally spotting me. I hurriedly put down my dish and dry my hands, turning to face him with what I hope is an open and innocent expression.

"Who, this? Why, this is my nephew! In from over the mountains for a visit." Bren exclaims, throwing his arm around my shoulder. The solider glances at me and does a quick double take. His eyes slant sideways for a moment, over towards the table.

"Ah. I can see the family resemblance. And why was no visitation form filed?" He demands after flipping through several pages on his clipboard. Bren's smile falters for a moment before broadening even further.

"Oh, a simple case of forgetfulness. My young nephew here came down with little warning, you see, and we all were so glad to see him that we just, forgot!" Lorwn looks at me, his face contorted into a frown. He opens his mouth to say something when the other guard comes back.

"Clear, Lorwn. Nothing here that shouldn't be." He says, shrugging past me and Bren. Lorwn nods sharply before looking back at me.

"I'll let you off with a warning, but next time, file the proper paperwork. It's to ensure your safety, after all." I duck my head mutely, not trusting my voice to respond. When had paperwork come into things? I may have grown up in the Forest, but I knew just from finding the Spiritual Stones that it had never been required before. And Hyrule was big enough to make it completely impractical.

I glance at Jazmyn from the corner of my eye, but she is already back at her spinning wheel, completely ignoring the exchange.

I look back at Lorwn just in time to see him nod at everyone and duck out the door. No one moves for several minutes. Bren finally heaves a sigh of relief and Jazmyn stops her wheel.

"I'm sorry about that, Link. I think it might be better for you to avoid your green tunics for a while. It'll help keep you safe." She turns to mess with her spinning wheel. Apparently my confusion isn't evident on my face, so I clear my throat to attract her attention again.

"Um, Jazmyn, would you mind explaining exactly what just happened?" I ask plaintively. She looks back at me with astonishment written on her face.

"You don't know? But they started this two years ago. Where have you-?" She glanced behind me and broke off. I turn my head, catching sight of Leyan still at the table, and Ms. Jen standing against the wall.

Wait-where did she come from?

"Just missed 'em, didn't I? Shucks. What a shame." She says, an edge of sarcasm creeping into her voice. "Let's get this place back in order, Jaz, we have places to be soon." She orders, moving past me to the stairs. "Link, come with me."

I glance at Jazmyn and Leyan, but both of them are busy rearranging the furniture. I shrug and follow Ms. Jen, but pause at the stairs. I'm missing something . . .

"Navi!" I call. She pops her head out of a pot on a top shelf and glares at me.

"I was almost worried you were going to forget me!" She scolds. She flutters down to me, perching on my head. I chuckle to myself.

"Oh, come now. How could I ever forget you? You're so noisy!" I tease, climbing the stairs.

"Humph!" Is her only response. I chuckle and shake my head, turning the corner at the top of the stairs. Ms. Jen beckons from Leyan's room. I follow, a little hesitant. I stop in the door and find her next the wardrobe on the far wall, busy messing with the side panel.

"Oh, this stupid thing-" she huffs at it, obviously exasperated. "Fine. We'll do it the hard way." She mutters, and she steps back. With blinding speed she side-kicks the panel, which pops free with a slight _snap_!

"Oh, Din! I think I broke the lock. I'll have to get Le to fix it later." She huffs.

"Um . . . did you need me, Ms. Jen?" I ask hesitantly while she rummages in the cavity that the panel reveled. Those drawers must be a lot smaller than they look on the outside.

"Call me Jen, Link. Trust me; no one stands on much formality any more. Not since the king and the princess . . . never mind. Impa might kill me if I tell you before we introduce you to everyone at the meeting." Her admonition trails off into silence. My curiosity gets the better of me, and I start to speak before I think.

"The king and the princess? What happened? And why would Impa care who told me? For that matter, who is this 'everyone', and what meeting? And why-?" I stumble to a confused halt as Jen starts laughing.

"Oh, calm down, Link. You'll get your answers soon enough," she responds with a smile.

"Here. I'm sure you were worried when they were gone this afternoon." She holds out my sword, shield, pouch and hat. I reach for them eagerly, jamming my hat on my head and tucking the pouch underneath the back of my belt. I grasp my sword more gently, feeling a calm aura flowing from it into me. You know, it's funny; I picked this sword up just a few hours ago-no, wait. It's been years, hasn't it?

And yet . . . It's like I've always had it with me.

As soon as I strap the scabbard on my back I feel as though a great weight has been lifted from my shoulders.

"Thank you, Jen," I breathe quietly. "I'm much better now." She smirks.

"I figured as much. Go on, scat. I have to prepare for the meeting."

XX

I tromp down the stairs, readjusting my tunic. I had grabbed my green one back before I left Leyan's room again. I don't really care what Jazmyn says, I like green better than brown…What in Farore's name?

I jerk to a halt at the bottom of the stairs, gaping as I watch people climb into the house through a trap door, calm as could be.

At least that explains where Jen came from . . .

But! These people had obviously been in a fight; many had ripped clothing, dirty faces, and bloody bandages. Some were in armor; others carried their weapon as if that was the only possession they had left.

Jazmyn is hurrying about with fresh bandages and salves, treating people as she came across them. I notice she's back in a tunic and breeches-why the heck would I notice something like that?

I flatten myself against a wall as a soldier pushes past, making a beeline for sink. I edge sideways, trying to count heads as I move past. Navi flutters away, perching on a shelf to watch all the activity.

Nine…Ten…Eleven? No, ten. Ten people had crowded themselves into the house.

"Whoa-" I stumble over somebody's legs, heading for an abrupt meeting with the floor. I screw my eyes shut as I prepare for the pain, but my body has other ideas. It reacts on its own, pushing out both my arms and kicking my legs higher, twisting me through a cartwheel. I find myself upright on the other side of the person.

"Nice save, boy." He mumbled quietly. I nod absently in acknowledgment, staring at my hands and more than slightly bewildered. Saria had tried to teach me how to cartwheel in the Forest, but I never quite got it right, so how-?

"Link!" I start in surprise, turning to see where who had called me. Jazmyn was waving from the other side of the room. "Come help me over here!" Her voice is urgent, and I find myself next to her almost before I can blink. She gestures to the person she's trying to help. He is wearing a skin suit colored purple, blue, and white, patterned almost exactly like Sheik's.

So this guy is a Sheikah too? These people are everywhere!

"He broke his leg in two places," she says, her voice frazzled. "I can set them, but Leyan hasn't come back with the healer yet, so I don't have any pain medication to give him. I need you to hold him still." I nod, leaning forward to pin his shoulders to the floor and hold the other leg down.

I can hear Jazmyn take a deep breath while she gingerly places her hands on the person's leg.

"This is gonna hurt like hell, Jon." She mutters. Jon just screws his eyes shut and bites down harder on the piece of wood she had stuck in his mouth. She takes one more breath and twists her hands explosively, and I can hear the bone grind back into place. Jon moans through the wood, jerking underneath my hands. I push on him harder, trying to keep him from moving.

Jazmyn's hands move quickly to his calf, and with one more crack, she sets it as well. Jon convulses beneath my hands, but within moments he relaxes, oozing flat against the floor. He spits out the block of wood, breathing heavily as sweat runs down his face.

"Th-thanks, Jaz." He muttered. She patted his shoulder, relief that he was alright evident on her face. She reaches for some splints, and I lean forward to help her tie them in place.

"No problem. But what in Hyrule were you thinking? Do you have any idea how upset Jen will be?" She whispers. He looks away, his eyes sad but his face set.

"I-"

"What the-?" Everyone in the room freezes as Jen appears on the stairs. Her jaw is slack, and she stares around the room with a look of incredulity etched onto her face. With a sharp _click_ her mouth snaps shut, and her eyes begin to burn with anger.

"Jonathan!" She demanded. Jon winces at the acid in her tone.

"Help me stand," he murmurs to Jazmyn. She bends over, but I beat her to it, pulling his arm over my shoulders and lifting him to his feet. He lifts his head to look at Jen.

"I'm over here." He calls, his voice strong. Jen storms through the crowd, her gaze molten. She strides right up to him, less than half a foot away. I'm not entirely sure I would have let her get that close if I weren't holding Jon up…

"What in the name of the Triforce were you thinking?" She asks, her voice deadly quiet and each word coming out short and pointed. Jon takes a deep breath to respond.

"Well, I-"

"You weren't thinking," Jen interrupts. "Because you never do. What part of my orders to stay in Castle Town with the nobles did you misunderstand? You were to stay there to protect them and gather information that a _scout_ would bring back! Why in Din's name did you disobey?"

"I-" He ducks his head, looking at the floor. "I deemed that it was unsafe for us to remain there, Ma'am." He said quietly. Jen cocked her eyebrow at him.

"Really? Now would you care to explain how you managed to screw up the escape plan so badly that you got caught and had to fight your way out?" His head jerks up at that, and Jen snorts in exasperation.

"What, you didn't think I wouldn't notice all the wounds that are waiting to be treated? Or that I would miss that fact that two of your people aren't here?" Her voice softens on the last few words, and I feel like something else is shimmering in her eyes… I can feel Jon gulp, but nothing changes on his face.

"I made a poor judgment call." He states calmly. "We ran into a patrol of Stalfos, and a few redeads." Jen closes her eyes, her nostrils flaring as she breathes deeply. My own mind is busy whirling along several trains of thought—These people had been in Castle Town? But I only saw redeads—Stalfos, those are nasty skeletons, under Ganondorf's control—who were they protecting?—two left behind, I can only imagine how that feels—Ganondorf. Who the hell is that?

"As a Sheikah, the decision for your punishment falls under Impa's jurisdiction, and not mine." Jen says finally as her eyes open. I can feel Jon relax the slightest bit beneath my arm. "But as a division captain, punishment falls into your General's jurisdiction. And I am your General." She finishes quietly. She's a General?

"You are to be demoted to the rank of commander, and for the length of your recovery you are reassigned to the Caverns." She states flatly. I don't know what the 'Caverns' are, but judging from the look on everyone else's face, being assigned there is akin to being exiled.

"Immediately." Jen adds. Jon's face contorts, like he wants to spit out a protest, but he simply hangs his head in acknowledgement.

"Yes, Ma'am." He replies quietly. Jen looks at him for one moment longer, and I can see something in her eyes-it's almost like regret. But then she blinks and whatever it was disappeared.

"Jaz, where is-Ah, Le, there you are." Leyan came in at that moment, followed closely by a stooped old woman. Jen waves at the wounded soldiers lying scattered across her house. "Help them out as best you can, Minerva. Send them down to the Caverns' medical rooms when you're done." The old woman waves a hand as she bends over the first patient.

"I'm going to need you three in the meeting room. Try to get down there quickly, before everyone else arrives. Stay in the back out of sight until I call you, alright?" Jen turns away, without waiting for an acknowledgement. "Take Jonathon with you," she calls over her shoulder. "I'm sure Impa will want to speak with him."

"Joy," Jon mutters under his breath. I shift slightly, moving his arm. "Oh, I'm sorry," he says, looking up. "I-Whoa. I'm sorry, but you look…If I didn't know he was standing behind you I would have sworn you were Leyan," he finishes hesitantly. I blink at him in astonishment. That was certainly not something I'd been expecting to hear!

"Uh-well, I'm obviously not. I'm Link," I reply, edging right past his remark. I'll think about it later.

"Oh, uh, right. I'm Jon. And, uh, thanks for helping me. I'm sure I'm heavier than you're use to." I shake my head.

"It's not a problem. I'll even help you to the meeting room-where ever that is." I say, pointedly looking at Jazmyn and Leyan.

They both shake their heads, snapping out of whatever they had been thinking.

"Sorry. Come on, it's kinda far." Jazmyn says, leading the way to the trap door. "I'll go first, Link, you can hand Jon down to me." She jumps down into the hole beneath the door, turning back to look up at us. "Sit on the ledge and we'll help you down, Jon." She says.

"Oh, come on, I can do it," Jon protests. Leyan rolls his eyes as he comes up on Jon's other side.

"You're a walking disaster on two legs, let alone one." He retorts. I shake my head as Jon sits on the edge of the opening. With this amount of good-natured bickering, I'd have to be blind not to see they were all friends. Leyan and I both crouch, and Jon slips one arm around each of our shoulders.

"Ready? Lift." Leyan says. We both lift him just a few inches off the floor, and slowly start to lower him down to Jazmyn. Slowly, inch by inch, we let him down. My shoulders and arm are blazing in protest from holding this much weight, but strangely it's not as bad as I would have feared having been asleep for six years.

"Whoa!" Jon suddenly cries out as his arms starts to slide off our shoulders too soon. His hands flail, trying to find a hold, and one managed to knock into my sword hilt. My sword slid out of her sheath as he fell down the hole.

"No-!" I lean forward, trying to grab his arm and my sword, but both slip beyond my reach.

"Uff!" Suddenly Jon stops moving, and he looks down in surprise. Jazmyn had managed to grab hold of his waist, arresting the fall and stopping him from landing on his leg. She glances up, her smile slightly strained.

"Jeeze, Jon, put on a few pounds, have you?" She jokes weakly. I reach out quickly and grab his arm, shifting to my feet for a better grip and lifting to take some of his weight off of Jazmyn. Leyan had done the same on the other side and together we slowly manage to let Jon down safely. He shuffles out of the way with Jazmyn, giving us a chance to jump down.

"Sorry about that," Jon says once we're all down. "Here. I didn't mean to knock it out of your sheath." He holds up my sword. I reach out quickly, only just managing to stop my self to snatching it from his hands.

"It's really a beautiful sword," he says as he turns it in his hand. He freezes suddenly as the Triforce symbol reflects bits of gold in the torchlight. "This-it-it-its-" He stutters into incoherence.

"It's my sword," I say, gently taking her out of his hands, slipping her back into her sheath. He points a shaking finger at me.

"That's the Master Sword!" He cries suddenly, obviously finding his voice again. I have to say, this is the most vocal reaction to my sword yet. It's almost funny, actually.  
"How do you have the Master-humf!" He is abruptly cut off when Jazmyn slaps a hand over his mouth.

"Shut up, Jon. We'll explain later, when there aren't so many ears right above us." She says sharply, glaring at him. With that, she turns and marches off into the gloom. Leyan grabs Jon's arm again, so I grab the other one, and we haul him after Jazmyn. She had nabbed a torch from one of the walls and was holding it aloft to light the way. She moves quickly, never hesitating for more than a moment at the intersections. Jon is busy concentrating on not falling over, so he isn't bothering me with questions. I examine the walls as we pass, watching with interest as they change. They had started out as wood; probably tunnels that had been built beneath the house. That makes sense. I think. Then they abruptly changed to stone.

Are these the Caverns they were talking about? We keep passing openings, some leading to caves and others blocked off with doors. The air is damp, but comforting-I feel like I've been here before. No, that's not quite right. More like…I belong here.

I shake my head to knock those thoughts out. What was going on with me? It's just because I'm from the Forest. That's it. This place is dark and damp, just like the Forest…

"Link!" I turn slightly as someone calls my name-was it me, or did it sound really…tiny?

"Link! How dare you leave me behind?" Suddenly a blue light zipped around the corner of the last intersection, buzzing around my face. "Just like you, always tramping off without the slightest regard for me! Do you not see how much I do for you? How much I help you? How much I-hey!" She shouts at me as I arrest her flight by grabbing the tips of her wings. A fairly good grab, if I do say so myself.

"Sorry, Navi. I got caught up helping Jon," I explain to her, keeping her far enough back that her kicks and punches won't connect with my face. "Jon, Navi, Navi, Jon," I say quickly before letting her go right in front of his face. For his part, he's busy staring at her with eyes the size of deku nuts.

"Y-your fairy can talk!" He finally gasps.

"Well, yeah. Can't all fairies talk?" I retort. On Jon's other side is Leyan, straight-faced as he helps me hold Jon up, but I can see the faint quiver of his lips. He probably finds this hilarious.

"No! At least, not the pink ones…" Jon says, his face still bewildered.

"You're as much of a block head as Link is," Navi comments. Jon's face turns bright red, cast into a slightly funky purple with Navi fluttering in front of him. If it weren't for the fact that she'd just insulted me right along with him I would have been laughing. "Those are fairy _spirits_, not fairies. They can turn into fairies, but that doesn't happen very often. Real fairies like me are rare enough in the forest, so I doubt you've ever seen one until now." With that she struck a little pose in front of his nose, making me laugh.

"Navi, I doubt anyone as ever seen _anything_ close to you!" Before she can fly at my head in a rage, Jazmyn pops her head back around a corner.

"What's the hold up? Come on, the meeting room's really close," she says impatiently, waving with the torch to emphasize her direction.

"We're coming, Jaz. Had to let Jon catch his breath," Leyan answers, hauling Jon forward another few feet. I stifle a laugh at the murderous look on Jon's face and follow suit, and together we manage to take him all the way into the meeting room and to the bench carved out of stone along the back wall. He settles roughly onto the bench, and I step back to stretch out my muscles.

"So…anyone want to explain exactly why Link has an incredibly rare talking fairy and just so happens to have the Master Sword strapped across his back?" Jon asks while he catches his breath.

"Well-you know, I don't actually know about the fairy. Link?" Jazmyn invites, setting the torch into a bracket on the wall and sitting next to Jon. I roll my shoulders, as much to reset my back as to convey uncertainty.

"I don't understand it myself. I mean, when I was little I thought it was because I wasn't a good enough Kokiri. Obviously I'm not a Kokiri at all; maybe I got to partner with her because I lived in the Woods?" I wonder out loud, sitting down myself. I ruffle my hair to ease an itch and look back up to find three pairs of eyes wearing the same incredulous expression.

"You lived…in the Lost Woods?" Jon says, disbelief coloring his voice.

"Yeah. I'd been as long as could remember, and the Deku Tree-" I broke off abruptly, sharing a sad, knowing look with Navi.

"Wait, I thought no one could enter the Woods unless they were invited by an inhabitant," Leyan says, breaking into the awkward silence. I shrug again, but I'm kind of relieved to move on to something familiar; another mystery, yes, but at it was something I'd been grappling with for years.

"I guess I was. I just don't know. No one could ever tell me anything."

"But-" Jazmyn is interrupted as Jen came into the room, followed quickly by five other people, including Impa and Bren. They all arrange themselves around the stone table in the middle of the room, torches from the wall casting just enough light to see by. There is a rustle of parchment and I crane my neck to try and see it. I manage to catch a brief glimpse of a map of Hyrule before it was laid down on the table and a hand full of wood markers spread across it.

"This is a disaster." One of them began without preamble. "Now that we don't have a squad in Castle Town we've lost one of the best ways to gather information about Ganondorf's troop movements." There was that name again—who is this man?

The name niggles something important deep in my mind. I close my eyes and tune out the rest of the conversation as I think. He had taken over Castle Town, that much was obvious…and that, I dunno, vision thing I'd had. He's been in that too. He'd kidnapped Zelda-

Zelda!

My eyes snap open as I remember—Zelda was the Princess, Zelda was the reason I was here, the one who'd helped me in all those bloody Temples, she was the one I'd been fighting so hard to save because I l-

"Link?" I jerk as Jazmyn shakes my arm, grabbing my attention and derailing my thought process. She points silently to the table and I can see several people pointing at the Forest. I resolutely shove my whirling thoughts to the back of my mind with a vow to figure them out later and turn my mind back to the conversation.

"-and now we have Moblins emerging from the Lost Woods to reinforce Ganondorf's army! I thought you told us the Forest would be a safe border, Impa!" A man scowled. I look at him closely, but I don't recognize him. I flick my eyes back to Impa in time to see her shrug.

"I told you I believed that to be so. I cannot be held accountable for the Deku Tree's doings, or for an area outside of my direct control," she told him blandly. I flinch as the Deku Tree's name lances through me—they all think he's still protecting the Forest.

"Link?" Jazmyn says again, and I turn my head to meet her eyes. They're wide with worry and anxiety, so I smile slightly at her to try and ease her tension. I have to say something, anything to help Impa. I smirk slightly to myself at that. I doubt she needs the help, but I do have information for her that no one else does.

"Impa?" I say standing up. I ignore the startled gasp from behind me—I'm sure it's because I'm breaking some vitally important rule or something, but at the moment I don't particularly care—and move forward into the circle of light cast by the torches. "The Deku Tree is dead."  
"What?" The man I don't know interrupts. "How can a child like this know what is going on in a place he's never been?"

"Maybe because I grew up there," I retort sharply, my anger trying to spike. I quickly wrestle it under control, sternly telling myself that this is just a man trying to protect people. There's no reason for me to get mad at him.

"Explain," Impa says quietly after a moment. I draw a deep breath and try again.

"The Deku Tree died after he was cursed. By the time I'd-by the time it was broken, it was too late," I say. For some reason I hold back from telling them that I'd broken the curse.

"So there's nothing guarding the Forest? That at least explains why things as evil as Moblins are allowed to roam it at will," Jen comments from her side of the table.

"But…what about the Temple?" I move sideways slightly as Jazmyn comes forward. "Shouldn't it be protecting the forest instead?"

"No." All eyes snap back to Impa. "The Temples are currently under Ganondorf's control. If we could find the Forest Temple, I might be tempted to liberate it, but as it is…" She shrugs her shoulders, and her face tightens, which is just about the biggest expression I've ever seen from her.

"I…I think I know where it is." I say into the silence. Everyone stares at me, disbelief written on more than a few faces.

"Could you take other people there?" Jen asks, jumping straight to the point. I nod slowly.

"I think so."

"Hah! Are you telling me that I'm supposed to believe some random kid who claims to have grown up in the Forest can actually lead us to the heart of its magic? Does anyone else think this is crazy?" The guy from earlier demands, bracing his hands on the table as he leans forward.

"I dunno," I respond, leaning forward to mirror him. "Does anybody else think you're an idiot whose upset he can't yell at anyone anymore?"

"Keshyn! Link! Both of you, back down!" Jen snaps impatiently. I glower at her for a moment but then I remove my hands from the table and step back. On the other side, Keshyn does the same.

"Link. Keshyn is one of our best commanders and a great tactician. He is not an idiot," she tells me icily. I frown, but refrain from comment. But just as Keshyn starts to get that smug look on his face that I saw so often on Mido's, Jen rounds on him too.

"And Keshyn. Link is _not_ a child, or someone to be taken lightly. He is an expert on the Forest, as well as an excellent fighter, so I expect you to listen to him." I glance at her sharply; I understand the forest comment, but the I'm-a-great-fighter one? Since when?

"I…I will try, General. But has he proven himself in combat?" Keshyn says. I glower at him yet again; this time he's just being nasty. And the sidelong look he shoots at me confirms that particular assumption. I turn my attention back to Jen just in time to see her eyebrow arch over one rock-hard brown eye.

That can't be good.

"You need proof, Keshyn? Alright; we'll let Link prove himself." With that, she grabs mine and Keshyn's arms and promptly hauls the two of us off.

"Whoa, wait, what are you doing?" I manage to ask as I stumble over my feet, trying to keep myself from tripping.

"General, what is the meaning of this?" Keshyn demands from her other side. I can only hope he's having as much difficulty staying upright as I am.

Jen stops abruptly and swings her arms forward, tossing the two of us into a large, fairly well-lit cavern that was entirely smooth, from floor to ceiling. I manage to catch myself and keep my feet, but only barely. I straighten up slowly, slightly vexed that Keshyn hadn't stumbled at all.

"Keshyn, if you're so eager for Link to prove himself in combat, we need a suitable opponent. Currently, most of the suitable opponents are dispatched on missions. Jon is incapacitated, Jaz and Le are excused as a matter of principle, and myself and the other generals are exempt from these things; therefore, there is only one person who can be considered suitable. You." My own face has been paling steadily since Jen began speaking; now I knew I was bone white. I had to fight now? I can't fight! I barely-barely!-held my own against three pitiful monsters that required more brains than brawn to defeat. (Not that I'm bragging or anything—their weaknesses were so obvious it was painful.)

I risk a quick glance at Keshyn, and his face is a least slightly pale. Maybe. I can't really tell in the firelight, but I think so.

"You will be using practice swords, so as to keep you from killing each other and to prevent any serious injuries. First to three touches wins. You may begin," Jen says, tossing two wooden swords into the center of the room. I grab the one nearest me and backpedal, trying to put as much distance between us as I can. That way I can try to reason out his style, think my way through this, and win.

Maybe.

Possibly.

There's a slight chance-

Ah, who am I kidding? I am so going to get walloped.

While I was lamenting to myself in my head, Keshyn had proceeded to pick up his sword and swipe it through a couple of slices to test the balance. Apparently satisfied, he turns to face me with his sword in a one-hand grip, the other arm out for balance and to use in attacks. I still have my sword by the blade—I quickly reverse it and grasp the handle with both my hands, trying to keep them from shaking.

Keshyn started to circle, forcing me to circle to keep my distance. He was obviously trying to size my up while I sized him up, but we weren't going to get anywhere just standing here. I take a risk and thrust forward experimentally, but he easily evades. I try again, and this time he smacks his blade down enough to force mine out of line and steps forward, tapping me lightly on my wrist.

"One point for Keshyn." I start slightly as I recognize Jazmyn's voice, but I nearly smack myself in understanding the next moment. Of course. They had all followed to watch the idiot man-child fight an experienced tactician.

I drag my attention back to the fight just as Keshyn takes the initiative, stepping forward with a thrust followed by a slice. I dodge the thrust and block the slice, managing to step forward at the same time. I twist my wrists, trying to bring my blade in contact with his shoulder, but he brushes it aside and smacks my own shoulder for my trouble. I back off, scowling, as I rub at the stinging spot.

"Two points for Keshyn." This time it was Jen. Keshyn negligently swats his sword around, laughing.

"Oh, yes, General Dase, a great fighter, this one. He doesn't even know how to disarm an opponent," he scoffs at me. I can feel my anger rising again, and I fiercely swat it down. The Deku Tree and I hadn't spent hours talking about how to control myself around Mido for nothing. I roll my shoulders in preparation and lunge at him, taking him by surprise. I manage to get my sword close enough to brush his side before I have to withdraw as he attempts an uppercut.

"One point for Link." Is it me, or is there a slight note of triumph in Jazmyn's voice?

This time Keshyn wades in with a quickly, shrugging aside anything I toss at him while his blows come within inches of connecting with my body. I can feel myself getting desperate; sooner or later one of those blows will land and I'll be done. So, I go the one place Keshyn hasn't been raining blows on. The floor.

I can tell Keshyn is surprised by my move because he falters for an instant, but it's more than long enough for my sword to whip around and touch his leg. As soon as I touch him I roll sideways, putting as much distance between us as I can before I come back to my feet.

"Two points for Link. Match point," Jen says. Keshyn's lips are moving, but I have a feeling I don't want to hear what he's saying. I doubt it's very nice.

This time, Keshyn whirls at me with a vengeance, moving so fast I almost can't follow and it's all I can do to block his blows. There's just no time for me to get one of my own in. Suddenly Keshyn smacks my sword sideways with enough force to make my hand tingle and steps forward, sliding his sword down mine until the hilts lock. With a quick jerk and a twist he pulls my sword from my hands, tossing it to the side. Defenseless, I continue to retreat, twisting and turning to avoid his blows. I bless all the time I spent dodging deku nuts for the fun of it as I slip just outside of his blows.

But nothing like that can last forever, as I so gracefully demonstrated by tripping over my own two feet. By the grace of Farore, or possibly my own dwindling supply of luck, I fell sideways with enough force to roll out of his reach. And then my back promptly met a wall.

Maybe it was my bad luck instead.

Keshyn is standing over me, raising his sword to bring it down with bruising force. I need to move, I need to get away, I can't there's a wall I need to block, I need a sword-

My sword!

There's an arc of blue light, and Keshyn's sword is lying halfway across the room, while Keshyn himself is several feet back, holding his hand. I find myself back on my feet, hat askew, arms shaking the slightest bit and the Master Sword in my hand.

"P-point for Link! Link wins!" Jazmyn says from behind me. I barely register the disbelief in her voice as I stare at the blade in my hand. I don't remember swinging it. Hell, I don't remember _grabbing_ it!

Wait. Point? I hit Keshyn, not his sword?

Then I realize why Keshyn is holding his hand. I must have smacked it with the flat of my blade.

How in the names of the Three Goddess did I have to presence of mind to use the flat of the blade instead of the edge when I couldn't remember drawing the damn thing?

"General…why didn't you tell me he held the Master Sword?" Keshyn says quietly, just loud enough to be heard. Jen looks at him, holding his gaze for an endless moment.

"I believe you know why." She says finally. "Had Link proved himself in combat?" Keshyn ducks his head in acknowledgment, although he refuses to look at me. I sheath my sword, slightly bewildered by the exchange, and turn to face the spectators. Jon is the first to catch my eye, and I sigh as I note that he's pointing at me while his eyes try to bug out of his head. Again.

"He-he-he's...He's the Hero of Time?" He finally manages to gasp out. I cross my arms in irritation and scowl at him while Jazmyn and Leyan laugh.

This whole Hero of Time business is getting really old.

But just as I open my mouth to say so, Jen waves her hand for quiet.

"Now that this business has been taken care of, we can return to the original question. Link, can you take a team through the forest to the Temple?" Jen asks quickly.

I'm not gonna lie, I have only the vaguest impression of where this Temple is. But I'm the only one here who has any knowledge whatsoever of the Lost Woods, and I'm probably the only one who can lead others through it and survive. Not even my Kokiri friends had ventured as deep into the Woods as I had.

Which means there is only one thing I can say.

"Yes."

"Good. Jaz, Le, go outfit yourselves. I don't want to see you two again until that Temple is freed, or liberated, or whatever, do you hear me?"

"Got it, General." They answer in unison. Jen nods in acknowledgment—but I can see a hint of hesitation. Is she worried about them?

Before I can chase that train of thought down, Jen motions sharply for the others to follow her, leaving me alone with Jazmyn and Leyan.

For a moment we do nothing. But my legs…they feel like they're made of jelly…

And the next thing I know I've face-planted myself on the floor. Great.

"Link! Link! Are you ok?" I hear Jazmyn above me, trying to turn me over to see if I was alright. Even better. I had collapsed in front of a _girl_.

"I'm fine," I mutter, slapping her hand away as I ease myself up into a sitting position. "My legs just let go for a second, alright?"

"Ah. Adrenaline drop. That makes sense." Leyan comments from somewhere above and behind me.

"What's adrenaline, Jazmyn?" Navi asks as she flutters about my head. I wish she would stop moving—the light is making me dizzy…

"It's a chemical in your body. When you get frightened or fight, it increases your endurance and ability to handle pain during the battle. If the drop in adrenaline levels is big enough, it'll dump even the most experienced warrior on his ass," Jazmyn explains. "But to be honest, I'm surprised your levels jumped that much, Link."

"Yeah, well, I'm not. Can we move on?" I ask irritably, trying to stand up.

"Don't move. You need to let your body adjust again before standing." Leyan says, pushing down on my shoulders.

"You're not surprised? How come?" I glance up to find a bottle full of clear water in front of my face. I grab at it and work on pulling out the stopper while I answer.

"I don't fight often. Hardly ever, in fact. I'm not used to it, I don't like it, and I would avoid it if I could. And to be honest, I'm finding it hard to control my limbs very well. A massive growth-spurt while you're asleep will do that to a person," I upturn the bottle and down the water as soon as I finish talking. The cool liquid rushes through me, and I instantly feel better. Amazing how water can do that, isn't it?

"A massive growth-spurt? While you were asleep? I don't know about you, but the most I've ever grown is a finger-breadth at a time—and usually over several days." Jazmyn comments, crouching in front of me.

Whoops.

Navi and I stare at each other, her eyes wide with worry. I'm more disgusted with myself. How could I let something like that slip?

"Link?" Jazmyn is still waiting. And I have to tell her and Leyan something. But…I don't want to lie. It was never something I was ever very good at, so why bother?

I take a deep breath to calm myself, which probably looks like a sigh to everyone else. Close enough, really.

"When I was eleven years old, the Deku Tree asked to see me." I start. I can tell Jazmyn is confused, but thankfully she stays silent. "He told me he had been cursed…"

I relate the entire story to her and Leyan, sparing no thoughts or details. They both stayed silent for the entire time, and Jazmyn's face was impassive. I don't think she even twitched. It was like she'd heard it all before. I couldn't see Leyan's face, but I would have bet my left arm that his was the same.

But when I talked about Rauru and the Sacred Realm, her face changed. It was like she'd been side-walled by an unexpected turn of events.

She sat back on her heels, her eyes wide. "Six and a half years. That's a long time to be asleep."

"You're telling me," I snort, trying to stand. "But anyway. That's why I'm so uncoordinated; I'm not used to being this big." I stumble slightly as someone grabs my upper arm and pulls, setting me on my feet.

"Didn't look that way during the duel," Leyan says quietly as he lets go of my arm.

"Yeah, right at the end when you lost your practice sword was some pretty fancy footwork." Jazmyn pipes in.

"That wasn't anything special," I shrug, shifting on my feet. "I used to play with deku scrubs, and you learn really fast that getting hit with deku nuts hurts like no tomorrow."

"Still. It requires a lot of dexterity to dodge like that." Leyan points out. I open my mouth to say I don't know what, but Jazmyn edged in before I could say anything.

"Enough about that. All that matters, Link, is that you really are a good fighter, whether you believe it or not. And as for having been asleep…well, we can get you caught up on everything. That at least explains why you didn't know about the monthly 'courtesy visits'." She and Leyan exchange a look of shared loathing at that.

"Wait a minute. I don't know about you, but I find my story hard to believe and I'm the one who lived through it! How the heck are you two taking this so calmly?"

"Uh, well…" Now the tables have turned. I watch in fascination as Jazmyn and Leyan fidget, glancing between each other and me. They're obviously trying to decide if they should tell me something or not.

I cross my arms as I wait, resisting the urge to tap my foot. They'll tell me when they're good and ready.

"Let's just say we've heard stranger," Jazmyn says in a rush.

"You know, Jen is expecting us to be on our way already. We need to finish up and move out," Leyan starts as soon as she finished.

I stand motionless for several seconds before Jazmyn and Leyan grab my arms and haul me after them. What, do these people not trust me to use my own legs or something?

"Um…where are you taking Link this time?" Navi asks from Jazmyn's shoulder. I hadn't realized she'd taken up residence there.

"The Armory, of course. Oh, Link obviously has his sword, but he's going to need more than that. And Le and I need our weapons to survive in the Woods." Jazmyn explains matter-of-factly over her shoulder.

"That's all fine and dandy, but could I walk on my own, maybe? It'd be nice to see where I'm going! And you didn't answer my question!" I complain loudly. The other two either can't hear me or simply choose to ignore me, because they just walk faster. After a few more moments, they pulled me into another hollowed-out cave and finally let me go.

"Goddesses, but you two have a strong grip," I say as I rub my upper arms.

"Blame Jen." Leyan comments as he bends down to open a chest.

"No, blame the training Jen put us through," Jazmyn says over him, sorting through a stack of shields. "Here, Link, I think this one is the right size." She thrusts a shield with the royal crest on the back into my hands. I weigh it carefully; although it's made of metal it's quite light, and the arm strap is made of leather so it will conform to my arm.

"Thanks." I slip the shield onto my back, snug over my scabbard. By the time I've gotten it to settle straight, the other two have finished. Leyan stands with a staff capped in metal, and, strangely, two books strapped to his back.

Jazmyn is outfitted in a way that seems more appropriate; a sword and shield like mine, a few daggers in her boots and a bow and quiver across her back.

Both have strapped on light armor; covers for the shins and forearms, tunics made of interlocking rings and thick gloves with thin sheets of metal coving them.

"Here. These are in your size," Leyan said, holding the same things out to me. I take them, but after I had the tunic and the gloves on I held the others in uncertainty.

"Uh. How do I put these on?" I ask in bewilderment. The other two look at each other, and I can see a glimpse of amusement pass between them, but when they look back at me, it's gone.

Good thing, too. I might have hurt them otherwise.

"Let us help." Jazmyn says. They reach out and take two each, and proceed to attach them to my arms and legs. I feel a little silly when they finish, but at the same time I can see the wisdom of wearing this stuff. It will only hinder movement slightly, and it will make it a lot easier to survive blows. I knew I had bruises forming from the fight with Keshyn, and I didn't even want to imagine how bad it would be if we'd been using real swords.

I step away from the other two, swinging my arms experimentally.

"This stuff is really nice," I comment.

"It's great for traveling light. It won't really do for a full-scale battle, but that's not what we're in for, right?" Jazmyn says brightly.

I glance back and forth between the two of them, from Jazmyn's open, happy smile and Leyan's quiet but steady support. I've only known these two for a day, and yet it feels like we've been friends for years. My mouth slowly curves up in my old cocky grin.

This was gonna be fun.


	8. Chapter 7

Notes:

So, this is something I've been meaning to mention for a while now…..

I've had this particular story idea kicking around in my head for years. But I never thought about writing it…until I read Legend of Zelda: The Return, by Rose Zemlya, from here on fanfiction dot com. She inspired me.

And as a result, portions of her ideas seem to be creeping into my story…which should not be happening! I am doing my best to field them off before they get there and weed them out when I miss, but some still make it through, unfortunately, so if you see one please know that all credit for the idea goes to Rose Zemlya!

Things like Link's pouch, the castle de ja vu moment, a few others…those all go to her. I apologize sincerely and suggest you go read her story while waiting on me to update. :c

s/344741/1/Legend_of_Zelda_The_Return

This chapter is a case-in-point on the whole update thing. Been, what, twoish years? …heh. It's a little long, but my writing style has improved! :D Enjoy!

Chapter 7

"Link, are you sure you don't need a horse?" Jazmyn asks plaintively for the fourth time.

"Yes, Jazmyn, I'm sure," I sigh patiently. I can't wait to show them Epona. But I hadn't said a single word about her, and the other two were getting a little skeptical.

"You can't be serious about walking the whole way." Leyan comments, turning around in his saddle to look at me. I roll my eyes at him.

"I'm not walking the whole way, I promise."

"You certainly look like you wanna try," Jazmyn points out. I come to a halt, finally bored with giving them cryptic answers.

"Just watch," I say, digging into my pouch. Ok, so maybe I wasn't _completely _bored with it yet.

I glance around to take quick stock of our position; we're just outside of Kakariko now, by the old bridge. Off in the distance I can see the walls of Castle Town, a dark cloud hovering over them. I resolutely turn away. There's nothing I can do about that right now.

"Exactly how big is that pouch, Link?" I turn back to Jazmyn to find her watching me in fascination, her eyes wide. I can probably chalk that up to my arm being buried up to the elbow in a pouch only a little bigger than my hand. I grin at her, shoving my arm in a little deeper as I search for my ocarina.

"Enormous. It'll hold whatever I want-ah, there it is!" I exclaim, withdrawing my arm and holding up my ocarina—the one Saria had given me—triumphantly.

"An ocarina? What do need that for?" She asks.

"To call my horse," I respond a little smugly. I bring the instrument to my lips, drawing a deep breath. My eyes flick to Leyan almost reflexively, wondering if he's as confused as Jazmyn.

To my surprise, he's facing a different direction, standing in his saddle like he's expecting something. The notes from Epona's Song fall from my ocarina with almost no direction from me, my fingers moving on their own. Almost immediately, I hear a distant whiney, and Epona came cantering over the hill—the same hill Leyan was looking directly at. But before I could chase down the train of thought that tickled awake Epona was upon me, eagerly licking my face.

"Ah, I missed you too!" I cry, rubbing her nose affectionately. "It's good to see you again, girl."

"Link…that's your horse?" I turn back to Jazmyn, whose eyes are, if possible, even wider than when I had dug into my pouch.

"You bet! Jazmyn, Leyan, this is Epona. Say hello, Epona," Navi interrupts me before I can even say a word. I throw a glare in her direction, still stroking Epona's neck. Much to my dismay, Epona goes ahead and neighs at Leyan and Jazmyn, quite obviously saying hi.

"Link, she's beautiful," Jazmyn breathes. Epona tosses her head in response, flicking her white mane around.

"Yeah, she is, isn't she?" I murmur, giving her one last pat. I swing myself up in her saddle, settling in easily.

"You look…like you belong there," Jazmyn comments, a small smile pulling at the corner of her mouth.

"Actually…I feel like I was born to it," I confess, running a hand through my hair before replacing my hat with Navi safely tucked underneath it. No need to lose her while we're traveling. "Which is really weird. I'd never even seen a horse until I met Malon while I was looking for the stones. I wonder why it feels so natural," I muse aloud.

"Uh, well, um…" Jazmyn trails off uncertainly. The silence grows, but just before it can turn awkward Leyan flicks his reins and sends his horse into a canter.

"Let see how fast Epona can go, Link!" He calls back over his shoulder.

"You are so in for it!" I holler back, pulling on Epona's reins. She rears backwards, and I lean forward to maintain my balance before she settles back down and takes off. I can hear Jazmyn urging her horse forward, but for just this moment I'm completely lost in the ride.

I toss my head back a bit like Epona to flick my bangs out of my eyes and I laugh aloud with sheer joy. Nothing, absolutely nothing, not even pulling pranks on Mido, had ever felt this good. I've never felt so _free_.

I quickly caught up to Leyan, our horses matching strides. I lean forward, urging Epona ever faster. There's really no need, but what can I say? He started it.

After a long time (the whole morning, I think), and after a goodly portion of Hyrule field has passed, I slow Epona down. She'd keep running forever if I let her, but I can feel her flanks heaving. She needs to rest.

And so do I. I'd never managed to notice before that riding a horse is a lot of work…and it _hurts_…

I slowly pried myself off of her saddle, landing on the ground rather harder than I'd intended. Goddesses, my legs hurt!

"Link?" I reach up and slowly pull my hat off, letting Navi out. I can hear her yawning before taking off and lazily drifting around my head.

"So how close are we now?" She asks, stretching.

"I dunno. A third of the way, maybe? I kinda lost track," I comment, patting on Epona. She nickers happily in response, nudging my shoulder. After a moment Leyan rides up, pulling his horse to a stop. He dismounted too, and I couldn't help but notice that he was walking a little gingerly as well.

So I'm not the only one that hurts.

Ha.

"Where in Hyrule did you get that horse?" He manages, his shoulders still heaving. I pat her flank again, my pride wedging its way onto my face in a smirk.

"Lon Lon Ranch. Epona was their finest horse." I explain, rubbing her neck. "I won her from that idiot Ingo in a race." Leyan snorts in understand, pulling something out of his saddle bag before sitting down.

"I'm somehow not surprised. Ingo never could ride." He comments. "Jerky?" He holds a small strip of dried meat out to me, and I take it before sitting down across from him.

"I know, right? He has no idea that a horse is supposed to be your best friend, not an animal." I say. Leyan nods in agreement.

"You can't force them to work with you. You have to talk to them, form a relationship." He says, biting into his food.

"Exactly! If they don't trust you they won't work with you," I add. Leyan nods enthusiastically in agreement.

I open my mouth to say something else when a rumble of hooves stops me. Leyan and I glance up to see Jazmyn cantering up to us, her horse panting as hard as she is.

"Alright, seriously? Why in Farore's name are your horses faster than mine?!" She demands, swinging off her saddle.

She doesn't even twitch.

Stupid girls and not having troubles with saddles…

I glance over at Leyan and see his disgust at the same thing written across his face. He catches my look and rolls his eyes, miming a prancing motion from his seat. I start to laugh, and after a moment he joins me, leaving Jazmyn glancing back and forth between us, confused. I shake my head at her, wiping tears from the corners of my eyes.

"Ah-it's-aha-it's nothing," I manage to gasp between fading chuckles. She eyes me speculatively, her eyebrow arched in skepticism.

"Right. 'Nothing.' Whatever. We need to keep moving if we want to get anywhere near the Woods before dark." Leyan and I groan simultaneously at the thought of getting back in the saddle. She smirks at us, hand on her hip. "Aw, are the poor boys sore?"

"That's what they get for being pigheaded about a race," Navi comments from somewhere above me.

"Hey!" We protest in unison. I can hear the raspberry Navi blows at me from here, and then I catch a glimpse of her settling on Jazmyn's shoulder.

"Traitor!" I mock-scowl at her. She sticks her tongue out in response, flipping her shock of hair over her shoulder.

"Us girls have to stick together, huh Navi?" Jazmyn says brightly.

"Aw, Jazmyn! Don't encourage her!" I moan.

"I'll encourage whomever I want," she remarks, sticking her tongue out at me.

"Fine, but that means you get to ride the rest of the way with her pulling at _your _hair!" I retort as I scramble back to my feet. "I suppose we better get going." I hold a gauntleted hand out to Leyan and after the briefest of hesitations he grabs it and hauls himself to his feet as well.

We all mounted our horses and set off…at a more normal pace this time.

XX

By sundown we were almost all of the way to the entrance to the Kokiri village. Somehow this trip seemed to take a lot more time than it had when I was a kid…

"We should stop here," I hear myself say. "It's not a good idea to be in the Woods at night." Jazmyn raises an eyebrow at me but reins her horse in anyway.

"Don't tell me you're frightened of the dark!" She jibes, clearly skeptical.

I snort in reply. As if!

…..Well, actually…

"Haven't you heard of Skull Kids?" I reply instead, avoiding her gaze. "They're the remnants of people who got lost in the Woods."

"Let me guess. We'll get lost at night, but not during the day?" Jazmyn's other eyebrow joins the other in the first disbelieving look I've seen from her.

"The Woods change at night. I don't think we'd get lost, but I'd rather we didn't risk it."

"Shouldn't we trust the guy who lived there, Jaz?" Leyan interrupts as Jazmyn opens her mouth to say more. Her mouth clicks shut, but her face stays skeptical. Luckily she doesn't say anything else and just dismounts. I shoot a quick look of thanks to Leyan while she's not looking before I follow suit.

I swing out of my saddle to help unpack when a sharp pain stabs at my foot. My ankle rolls awkwardly to stop it and suddenly I'm on the ground.

"Ouch!"

"Link, are you okay?" Navi demands, zipping around my head. Leyan and Jazmyn look over curiously from their horses but I wave them off.

"Fine, Navi. Just something in my boot." I pull off said boot, shaking it to knock the offending object out. A small blue circle hits the grass. Navi scoops it up before I can reach for it.

"What's this?"

"I forgot about that thing!" I blurt. "It was in my ear when I woke up."

"And you put it in your boot?" She raises an eyebrow in disbelief.

"I was kind of in a hurry," I defend, huffing. Jazmyn had wandered over by this point; probably to see if I'd hurt myself.

"…? Link, that's a Sheikah earring. See?" She says with a touch of bewilderment in her voice. She shoves her hair back to show me her ear and a matching blue hoop stuck through the lope. "They let you pass safely through the barriers around the Caverns. The only other way in is if someone with the earring is willingly touching you."

"Willingly?" Jazmyn shrugs, reaching for the earring.

"Keeps people from using us to force their way into the Caverns. But Link, where did you get this?" She turns it round and round in her fingers, forehead drawn. I shrug, settling back on my hands.

"Dunno. I only realized it was there when you mentioned yours and Leyan's during that thing yesterday."

"Yeah…" She says, still frowning at it. "Here. Let me put it in for you." She half-turns on her foot and gently eases it through the hole in my ear. My breath catches slightly at her proximity, but in an instant she's gone, moving back towards her horse. "There you go! Come on, let's set everything up."

A few minutes later we've got a small fire going, and we're all seated around it while our horse graze around us. A comfortable silence envelopes us for a bit while Leyan erects a small pot above the fire and tosses some things from his saddle bag into it.

"Well, now that we've got some time, Link, what would you like to know?" I glance up at Jazmyn, confused for just a moment before I realize she's talking about the time I was asleep.

"Everything." I respond, sitting straighter. "What happened to change Hyrule like this? Who is Ganondorf? Where is Princess Zelda, what are those inspection thingys, why is Castle Town populated by the dead, what-"

"Alright!" Jazmyn interrupts. "Why don't we start at the beginning?"

And they do. They tell me about their training, a visit from Impa were they heard the terrible news about the King—I was nearly blown over when I heard Zelda was missing, though for the life of me I didn't know why—and the war. They talk about the time they had spent trying to unite the races and how that ended in total disaster. They talk about their ragtag force of Sheikah and Hylians who are trying to fight back. And they tell me about Ganondorf.

They tell me about how he had taken the throne; about his armies; how he tried to wipe out the people in lower Castle Town as a show of force to the nobles—most had only gotten away because the of the Sheikah. They speak of his harsh measures to ensure 'peace'; the monthly inspections were a way to keep tabs on people and ensure that they weren't trying to revolt.

Somewhere during all of this Leyan hands me a bowl of stew, and I know I ate it because later the bowl was empty, but I can't for the life of me remember how it got from the bowl to my mouth.

Silence reigns in the little camp when they finish. I think they're just tired of talking, but I for one am dumbstruck. How had this happened? Any of it?

"It's a lot to take in at once," Leyan says gently.

"But…how…didn't…why didn't anyone stop him?" I finally got out. I suppose I should be angry, upset, something—but I can't feel anything. I just feel numb. Jazmyn shrugs.

"He had the upper hand. He got to the King by pretending he had the Princess; after that, everyone fell like dominoes. By the time we got here to try and do something it was too late. No one was willing to risk it anymore."

"We fight everyday just to keep our small force for collapsing. This news about moblins from the Forest is very bad." Leyan adds. "It could completely destroy group moral. If we lose that, we lose everything."

I look back and forth between the two of them, thinking. The gears in my head are turning; I have something, some glimmer of a thought, and I just need a second to articulate it.

"Why are you two involved in any of this? Aren't you both really young?" I finally ask. That's probably about as far as we could get from the previous topic, but hey. No one ever said I was consistent.

"Our seventeenth birthday is in a week!" Jazmyn huffs after a moment. "Besides, you can't be that much older than us!"

I actually have to stop and think when she says that. Let's see…I turned 11, wandered Hyrule for a week or two, fell asleep for six-and-a-half years…

"I'm seventeen and a half." I say out loud, trying to confirm my numbers.  
"See, you're not any older than us! And we're plenty old enough to fight in a war!"

"But I'm not fighting a war. I'm tagging along to find out what in Din's name is wrong with my forest and do whatever I have to to fix it. Then I'm done." I snap back at her. I instantly regret my words, but that doesn't make them any less true. I'm not fighting in their war. Heck, I'm still an eleven year old kid inside! I have nothing to do war!

So I grit my teeth and wait for the storm.

I'm only half-right; Jazmyn doesn't yell, but she does glare at me hard enough to hurt. And it's not just an angry glare; it also seems a little sad. Then without a word she flips over and wraps herself in her sleeping role. I'd seen Saria do this often enough to know what it was…a full-blown sulk.

"Fur brain." Navi comments from my shoulder before flying to Jazmyn's other side. I glance at Leyan and raise my hands helplessly.

'What did I say?' I mouth at him. He just shrugs and leans over to toss another piece of wood on the fire. Then he too turns around and settles into his bed.

I don't get it. All I said was the truth; I'm not here to fight a war. Hell, I probably couldn't even if I wanted too. So why was everyone acting so disappointed in me?

XXX

I awake suddenly the next morning to the sounds of soft clanging, heavy breathing, and shuffling feet. It takes me a moment to put together where exactly I am; when I remember, I almost jump out of my bedroll. Luckily the jump jolts me awake the rest of the way, and I rub the dust from my eyes to find Jazmyn and Leyan sparring. And was that just the barest glint on the horizon?

"Good morning sleepy head." One of them says. I wasn't paying attention, so I don't catch which one. "Get moving, you're up next."

"Huh-?" I manage as I watch the two of them in amazement. Jazmyn is fighting barehanded, protected only by her light armor; Leyan has his on as well, but is wielding his staff. I watch in utter amazement as they move back and forth, batting, slapping, striking and twisting as they dodge each other to launch counter attacks. Jazmyn tries a combo almost too fast for me to follow; a fake, step, punch, twist, kick. Leyan ignores the fake, mimics the step, avoids the punch and waits through the twist to knock the kick aside with his staff. Then he starts forward with a combo I can't even describe.

Whatever he did, it ended with his staff behind Jazmyn's foot and Jazmyn falling backwards—but she twists around and manages to get her hands on the ground. She compresses onto them and then pushes, sending her feet flying at Leyan's face. He dodges at the last moment, just managing to avoid having his face rearranged. Her move lands Jazmyn back on her feet, and they both launch right back in.

Had they said I was next?

Suddenly they both stop, and I realize Jazmyn has her hand held ridged along Leyan's neck while Leyan's staff is pressed against the hollow in hers. A brilliant smile splits her face as she disengages before pulling Leyan forward into a hug.

"I can't remember the last time you fought me to a stand still!" She exclaims. "You've been practicing on your own, haven't you?"

"Maybe a little." Leyan replies, hugging her back before turning to face me. "Ready?"

"Uhm, I don't even-"

"Nuh-huh!" Jazmyn exclaims, leaping lightly over me. "There's training every morning, no exceptions, no excuses, no whining. Come on, big boy, get up!" With that she reaches down behind me and yanks on my bedroll, tossing me into a tumble. I just manage to wrap my arms around my head to protect it before I connect to solid ground with a sharp jar. I hold still a moment longer before slowing raising my head to look at the other two with my very best death glare(I'm told it looks a little like I'm in pain—here's hoping it looks better on an adult face.)

"Training? What training? Who said anything about any kind of training?!" I demand.

"You're traveling with military types now. What made you think there wouldn't be any training?" Navi counters.

"I'm really more of a strategist-" Leyan starts, but I ignore him in favor of staring Navi down.

"I realize that I'm traveling with 'military types', but I'm not exactly military, am I? I'm still a kid!" I retort.

"Wouldn't know it to look at you!"

"It's not my fault Rauru stuck me in the Spirit Realm for Din-near seven years!" I snit back.

"It most certainly is! You're the one who grabbed that sword!" I snap my jaw shut at her words. Unfortunately, she's absolutely right.

"As amusing as it is to watch you two bicker like an old married couple, it's not going to get you out of training," Jazmyn comments dryly. I shake my head quickly, scrambling to my feet.

"But Jazmyn-" And abruptly my feet leave the ground, and I land on my back, knocking any semblance of breath from my body.

"Lesson number one: Never take your eyes off of your opponent," Leyan says, planting the end of the staff he had just used to knock me over in the ground. His soft demeanor is gone; his face is set in impassive lines and his voice is flat. I don't think he's even contemplating taking it easy on me.

Farore.

"Number two; never stay still." He flicks his staff at me, the metal caps gleaming in the early sunlight. I jerk backwards, dropping flat on the ground just in time for it to swing past my nose. As soon as it's gone I scramble up and back, trying to get out of reach. "Good. You're learning." He states as he moves forward again. I shuffle back, staying out of his reach. He stops short and sighs. "You're never going to learn anything if you don't engage," he reprimands lightly.

"Who says I want to learn anything?" I retort, eyeing his staff warily. "Besides, I'm not like you two. That thing hits me and it's likely to knock me out." Leyan's eyebrow pops up.

"Oh? You really think so? Then let's try something else." He's moving almost before he finishes speaking. He starts running forward, plants the end of the staff firmly the soft ground and jumps, using the staff as leverage to launch himself at me. I dodge, and he lands lightly on his feet before whirling to strike out at me. This one is moving so fast I can't dodge, so instead I throw my arm up and deflect it. His hand drops back like he was expecting it, and the starts in on another attack, pressing forward. Somewhere between the sixth and seventh times Leyan lands a hit my head begins to hurt, and everything—Navi, Epona, Jazmyn, the sky, sun, field, everything—fades away. My entire world shrinks down to just me, Leyan, and the next attack. With more grace than I knew I possessed I drop below the latest kick and flick my own foot out, tapping Leyan on his ankle with just enough force to unbalance him. He recovers quickly, with only a slight flicker of emotion across his face—it almost looked like triumph.

"Very good. But can you handle this?" He grins, and I feel a pang of familiarity before he's on me again. His hands, feet, elbows, and knees are flying at me from every angle, and it's all I can do to block or knock them aside, let alone look for an opportunity to strike back. Suddenly I see my opening; his left jab is a fake, the real attack is a right hook, and if I can just manage to twist a little further—

His hand shoots passed me as I twist, and I grab it, pulling as I turn my back to him; with a heave, I send him flying over my shoulder onto the ground. The loud _thunk_ he makes upon contact jars me and everything snaps back into focus. I realize that basically every limb I have is aching, my chest is heaving as I attempt to provide my body with air, and_ I just threw Leyan to the ground._

"That was incredible!" Jazmyn exclaims, disrupting me out of my shock.

"Geez, Link, why didn't you ever try that on Mido?" Navi asks, flying in circles around us.

"I-how do you know about-never mind. Leyan, are you alright?" I ask, moving forward to the inert form. I bend over him just as his eyes pop open and he sits up. He presses a hand to his forehead for a moment and shakes his head before looking at me. A small, restrained smirk, the complete opposite of his earlier grin, pulls his mouth up.

"Not bad."

"Not bad? Leyan, didn't you see that?! Well, I guess not cause you're the one he threw, but Le, that was-"

"Jazmyn, are the saddle bags packed?" Leyan interrupts, pulling himself to his feet and brushing himself off.

"Uhm-Yes, they're ready." Yet again, I'm frozen to the spot. That was a complete reversal of conversation, without a single peep of objection outside of a slight tightening of Jazmyn's forehead. I'm starting to get the feeling that something's going on here…

"Link! Are you coming?" Jazmyn calls, already seated on her horse. Leyan is just swinging up on his. Neither one will quite meet my eye as I reach out for Epona's reins.

"Yeah, I'm ready."

XXX

"…The Woods seem…a lot darker than normal." Navi manages from her seat on my shoulder. I've been sitting silently for a good five minutes, gaping at my beloved Woods. The inviting, warm Woods I remember are gone; instead, dark, forbidding, and quite honestly scary trees greet us at the entrance to Kokiri Village.

"I think this is pretty good confirmation of Impa's claim that Ganondorf got his dirty mitts into the temples." Jazmyn mutters. I nod silently in agreement as I swing off my horse. "Wait a minute! What are you doing?" She exclaims as I start yanking on one of my saddlebags.

"We're taking a big enough risk with you two going into the Woods. We're all going to be Lost for sure if we try to take the horses." I explain as I set one bag down and reach for the other.

"But…we can't just leave them here, they'll get stolen!" She objects. I hold up the rope I'd just fished out of my bag.

"Epona knows where it's safe around here. If we rope them together, they won't get lost."

"And how do we find them again, mister know-it-all?" This time I snort in exasperation and hold up my ocarina.

"Epona always responds to her song. If they're roped together, the others can't do much but follow, now can they?"

"I don't see-" I quirk an eyebrow at her and she falls silent.

"You've trusted me enough to want me to lead you through obviously dangerous forest. I think you can trust me with the safety of our horses."

"He's got a point, Jaz." Leyan contributes as he dismounts, yanking at his own saddlebags.

She huffs in disagreement but follows suit. I quickly wind the rope through the saddles on all three horses, leaving enough slack for them to graze but not so much that it would get caught on everything, and tie a few quick double-x knots to hold it all together.

"You keep the others safe, alright girl?" I ask, rubbing at Epona's ears. She whinnies at me and nudges my shoulder before turning and trotting off around the corner, pulling the other two with her.

"Is this seriously gonna work, Link?" Jazmyn demands again.

"Look, Jazmyn-"

"Jaz. I go by Jaz." She interrupts. "I've been meaning to mention that."

"Look, Jaz," I continue with hardly a pause, "They can't come with us. They can't stay here. They have to move around on their own. That'll keep them safe. Now are you coming or not?" I call as I shoulder my packs and move forward down the tunnel-like rows of trees. I hear her footsteps as she runs to catch up, Leyan right behind her.

My muscles relax for what feels like the first time in a very long time as I step beneath the cool green shade of the trees. It's comforting and familiar…but not quite right. A frown tugs my mouth down as I try to pick at the reason. Jazmyn and Leyan obviously feel it too; I can hear the strain in their breathing and the soft click of metal being loosened inside a sheath. The tension begins to build in my shoulders again as we near the break in the trees that leads to the Village; we should have met a Kokiri already. We'd always known when a stranger was in the forest, and even if we'd never actually wanted to reveal ourselves, we were never very sneaky. I open my mouth to call out as I step forward out of the trees and into the pale light of the Village when a hand hauls me backwards just as a gruesome shape lunges through the space I had just occupied. With a slight ring Jazmyn jumps forward and draws her sword to decapitate the monster. Leyan pulls me even further back, pushing me behind him as he holds his staff in a defensive position. Jazmyn's sword flashes to the other side of the opening, and a meaty thump indicates she killed another one that was out of view.

I'm still staring at the monster head on the ground; it's a Deku Baba! And it isn't any regular old monster like what I'd fought as a kid; this thing is easily the size of my chest, complete with pointy daggers for teeth and hideous green drool that hisses and spits as it lands on the bright moss below.

"What-is that thing-doing in the forest?!" I choke out.

"Well, with the Deku Tree dead and the Temple under Ganondorf's control I'm not very surprised that monsters have moved in, Link." Jazmyn said matter-of-factly. "Weren't the generals talking about moblins attacking from the forest?" I barely hear the last sentence; my brain is still hung up on 'monsters have moved in'.

"We have to get rid of them." I blurt out. Jazmyn and Leyan turn to face me, eyebrows disappearing into hairlines.

"We can't clear out the entire forest, Link, we have to free the temple like Impa ordered-" Leyan starts.

"Not the whole forest, just the Village. Please, we can't leave the Kokiri to deal with these things. Most of them can't even face Skulltullas, and those Din-damned things have been in the forest for longer than I can remember!" I plead.

"Well…I suppose if it's _just_ the Village…" Jazmyn consents after a moment.

"Thankyou!" I rush out, my pack thudding the ground as I head for the Village. I remember to stop and check before I rush head long out into the twilight, but after only a cursory glance I dash out. A flash of orange in front prompts me into a dive to my left, and a round deku nut shoots through the air where I'd been standing. "Oh no you don't," I growl, my right hand slipping my sword from her sheath and slicing it through the orange blur. With a shriek the Scrub dies, collapsing into a pile of dead leaves. "Leyan, go right. Jaz, take the left. I'll head through the center of the Village."

I'm moving before they have a chance to respond. I slip silently past the trees and homes that had encompassed my entire childhood world, listening closely for the betraying rustle, hiss, or scratch that would indicate any of the fiends I was expecting. More than one Deku Scrub posed up to try its shot; every time I sidestep the nut and slash my sword forward. I'm dispatching another one when I hear a rustle behind me. I finish off the one I'm facing and slowly edge my way around the patch of grass, wary. My eyes narrow for a moment and I'm about to lunge when Navi flutters in front of my face.

"Stop!" She cries, throwing her little arms wide. I step back so I don't have to cross my eyes to see her and open my mouth to demand an explanation when I realize the fairy in front of me isn't blue—she's white! Her little mouth trembles as she watches me, but she doesn't move.

"Please don't hurt my partner," she asks. I glance over her shoulder in surprise and realize a small green cap is sticking out of the grass. I look back at the fairy.

"I won't hurt him. Could you get him to come out, please?" I request, making sure to sheath my sword to prove my words. Her arms slowly drop to her sides, and for a moment hovers hesitantly in front of me. Then she's gone in a streak of light, hovering over the small green cap.

"It's ok, Bernie, he won't hurt you," she says to the Kokiri. A head slowly emerges from the grass, and a tear-stained and scared face looks up at me. I crouch down, trying to look less imposing.

"I'm here to stop the monsters," I say kindly, trying to be reassuring. Bernie had always been a bit of a scardy-cat, but I certainly couldn't blame him for it now. Not with these creepy monsters invading my forest.

"Ple-please save Rema!" He finally gets out. "She went to the Deku Tree's meadow, even though we told her not to! That's were we first saw the monsters!" I'm up and running before he's even finished, heading towards the meadow.

"Jazmyn! Leyan!" I shout as I bound across the stepping stones that litter the little pond. I don't know what the Kokiri are thinking, leaving their homes when monsters are roaming everywhere, and little Rema is probably in way over her head—

"Here!" My friends say breathlessly as they drop into step behind me.

"Try not to frighten her!" I shout as explanation as I tear through the familiar tree-tunnel to the Meadow.

"Wha-who?" I don't even bother to explain as we skid around a bend to find Rema cowering against a tree, sobbing so hard she can barely breathe. A moblin is advancing on her, its spear reaching forward.

"No!" The cry rips from my throat with no conscious thought and I'm suddenly beside the beast, my blade in hand. I swing it in a horizontal cut with all my strength, gorging the monster deeply. It stumbles away, roaring in pain, and tries to bring its spear around to bear on me, but at that moment Jazmyn leaps up and lopes its head off with her sword. I back away hastily from the gore. A sudden thought grabs me and I whirl, looking for Rema. If she watched us kill it—but no. My eyes find her wrapped in the safety of Leyan's arms, her head buried against his neck as she slowly stops sobbing. She hadn't seen a thing.

"I'm pretty sure that was the last of them," Jazmyn comments as she wipes her sword on the grass before sheathing it. I follow her example and agree.

"I'll let the Kokiri know they can move freely around the Village now." I add, turning to take Rema from Leyan. She refuses my help and demands to be put down, which Leyan obliges. She looks up at me and suddenly flashes a bright smile that I remember so well.

"Thanks Mister! And thank you too, Lady!" She positively beams before dashing off to the tree-tunnel.

Leyan shakes his head ruefully. "I pull her from danger, and she thanks you two. Go figure." I laugh to hide my sudden discomfort; Rema had jolted me a bit. Not even a flash of recognition…

"What can we say; we're just more the hero type!" Jazmyn is joking with Leyan as I pull myself back.

"Now that we've established who the heroes are," I start with a grin, "We should be off. The best trail is back through the Village, so I'll wrap things up there as we go." Leyan falls into step beside me as we walk back.

"I can see why you loved it here as a kid. Everything feels so…alive," he comments.

"That happens when everything around you is alive!" Jazmyn interjects. We all chuckle a bit, and I sigh as I look up at the green canopy above.

"It was a safe place to live. A good place to be happy." I explain. We emerge from the tunnel at that moment to find the entire village has turned out, cheering.

"Thank you for saving us!" They chorus, jumping up and down in a mass of small bodies. I laugh good-naturedly as they swarm around our legs, giving us hugs and asking questions.

"Where're ya from?"

"How did you know we needed help?"

"What's that book on your back for?"

"How did you get so good with a sword?"

"Where-"

"Why-"

"How come-" they all stumble over each other, completely unconcerned that we can't get a word in edgewise to answer. Not surprising; Kokiri love to talk.

"Whoa!" I finally shout, shaking one or two of them off my arms.

"The monsters aren't going to come back, are they?" One of the Know-It-All brothers asks.  
"We took care of them, sweetie." Jazmyn says, crouching down to look them all in the eye. "But we need you all to do us a favor, okay? Stay in the Village for a while. We're going to get the rest of the monsters hiding in the Woods."  
"You're going into the Woods?!"  
"You'll get Lost!" They all cry, scrambling over each other to pull at our clothes, trying to hold us back.  
"We'll be okay!" I promise, gently disentangling Rema from my legs. "We have very specific directions from a friend to follow." Rema steps back, her brow furrowed as she looks at me, when her mouth opens in a little 'o' of surprise.  
"Is it Link? Is he your friend?!" She asks breathlessly. The question catches me off guard, and my voice abandons me for a moment. Rema takes this as confirmation of her question, and she starts squealing and clapping her hands.  
"Oh, he is, he is! I just knew it; he's the only one besides Saria who could find anything in the Woods!" The others catch on to what's going about this point, and they fall all over themselves as they all babble questions.  
"Link's okay?"  
"Where's he living?"  
"He's still a kid like us, right? I told you he would be!"  
"When is he coming back?" Of all their questions the last one hits me the hardest. I hadn't expected them to even remember me, let alone want to see me! I open my mouth to say something, but I have to close it quickly to choke back the sobs threatening to burst forward.  
"Of course Link is okay!" Jazmyn says a huge smile on her face.  
"In fact-" Leyan starts, turning to point at me.  
"-he said he misses you all. He'll visit when he can," I interrupt. The Kokiri are all ecstatic at the news, chattering amongst themselves. Jazmyn stands up and frowns at me, probably getting ready to demand an explanation when Leyan's hand lands on her shoulder. I manage a small smile of thanks before I have to turn away, still holding back tears. The Kokiri have all backed off a little now, so I head for the other side of the Village and the pathway into the Woods beyond.  
The whole troop follows, the kids shouting and playing as we approach the path, scooping up our abandoned packs along the way. Thankfully they do as Jazmyn asked and hang back as we set off underneath the canopy of trees. I glance back and find them all waving, shouting words of encouragement and a few idiotic suggestions (which probably came from the Know-It-All brothers, the pranksters). My old smirk makes it way back on to my face for an instant, so I wave back before we round the bend and they, along with their voices, are swallowed by the Wood.  
"Okay, these Woods are creepy," Leyan comments in the sudden quiet.  
"Link, why didn't you tell the Kokiri who you are?" Jazmyn demands, completely ignoring Leyan's attempt at a distraction. I shoot him a quick nice-try look before Jazmyn's impatience gets to me.  
"Just didn't seem important," I shrug, trying to brush it off. "Come on, we have to go this way-"  
"Oh no you don't." Jazmyn exclaims, dragging me back. "Explain."  
It's Leyan's turn to shoot me a good-try face over Jazmyn's shoulder, and I grimace in return.  
"I ...I didn't want them to be disappointed." I admit. Like I actually had a claim to coming back here anyway.  
"Jaz, you're allowed to smack him now," Navi's contributes as she zips out from under my hat.  
"Hey-" I start to protest heatedly when two different hands connect with opposite sides of my head. I stumble backwards to get out of reach, holding my abused ears.  
"Ow! What was that for?!" I demand angrily.  
"Navi's got a point. You're being stupid." Jazmyn responds bluntly, crossing her arms defiantly.  
"They're your friends, Link. I don't think you can disappoint them," Leyan adds in a softer voice. My hands drop to my sides and misery twists my face.  
"Maybe not. But it doesn't matter anyway. We came here for a reason, and my 'family' reunion isn't it. Come on, it's this way," I set off down the faint trail, ignoring the twisted feeling in my chest. The Temple is what matters right now.

"Link, do you actually know where the Temple is? I certainly don't," Navi asks from somewhere behind me.

"Maybe." I ignore Jazmyn's muted exclamation and wave my hand negligently. "I know where to start, anyway. Saria's Special place. She showed it to me once or twice."

"You mean-"

"Who's Saria?" Leyan cuts Jazmyn off. I smirk at the furious expression on her face and answer Leyan, still meandering down the trail.

"My best friend. She takes-took care of me while I lived here." I stop suddenly at a faint juncture, contemplating the different paths in front of me. "This way," I decide, heading off to my right.

"How exactly do you know where we're going? Everything looks the same here," Jazmyn huffs, still upset. I shrug, unable to express it in words.

"I just…I can feel it. Like there's a sound just out of hearing, down the right path." I try. The blank look on her face probably means that I'm not making any sense. "It's hard to describe," I add lamely, turning left where the ground sloped away into a hollow.

"I don't think it's so surprising. You have a special connection with this place, Link." Leyan says quietly. I snort, brushing it off as I make another turn.

"Nah, I just played here a lot. It was nice to have some peace and quiet."

"Stop! Who goes there?!" A voice out of my memory shouts, breaking said peace and quiet. I steel myself before I step into the little clearing, fighting my nervousness down. There's no way he'll know…

"No one passes through here!" Mido huffs as we approach. "I don't care who you are!" He adds as an after thought.

"Would you mind stepping aside? We need to visit…what was it, Saria's Place?" Leyan asks, stepping forward.

"No!" Mido moves in the way, hands set on his hips. "I promised Saria I wouldn't let anyone in her special place!" I frown as I digest this; it explains why Saria wasn't in the Village, but little else.

"I love kids as much as the next person, but this is too much. Can I throw him in that puddle?" Jazmyn asks, cracking her knuckles in preparation. I pull her back, shaking my head.

"I have a better idea. Mido," I say, crouching down to look at him. I have his full attention now as he tries to puzzle out how I know his name. "We're Saria's friends. She'll want to see us." His lip trembles with indecision.

"Prove it." He demands suddenly, his old fire flashing in his eyes.

"For the love of-" I wave Jazmyn back. Sure, it'd be funny to see Mido soaking wet, but I know he can't swim. Besides, I have an unfair advantage now, what with being three times his size.

"Do you know what this is?" I ask instead, fishing Saria's ocarina from my pouch. His eyes bulge in confirmation.

"Where did-" Saria's Song dances from my fingers, the sound warm and lively like the Woods themselves. The final notes fade into silence quickly, and Mido's face is still slack.

"Saria only…only teaches that to her closest friends," he whispers. "I don't even know it yet…" Something in my heart twinges, and I have to look at my hands instead of his face. All those years, we'd only ever really fought over one thing…being friends with Saria.

"You can go." He says, pulling me out of me reverie. He sniffs and rubs at his nose in a vain attempt not cry. "Can you-can you make sure she's okay? She hasn't come back in weeks," he sniffs.

"Of course. I'll bring her back safely, okay Mido?" I ask gently. His lips tremble as he holds back tears.

"Go back to the Village, Mido. We'll take care of the Saria, and the monsters." Leyan says. Mido glances at all three of us before giving a slight nod and taking off without another word.

"Will he be okay?" Jazmyn's gentleness is surprising after her willingness to throw him in the pond.

"Yeah. He knows his way around." I trot forward, resolutely locking my emotions away. I'll talk with Mido later. After.

I duck around the last pair of guardian trees into the maze I'd been looking for.

"Um. Link, this looks…not like a Temple." Jazmyn comments.

"That's because it's a hedge maze. Saria's place is on the other side," I wave at it vaguely. "Come on, if we boost up on top of the hedges we can cut straight across." I suit actions to words, trotting out into the open. A sudden flash of wrongness seizes me, and I dive to the right as an ear splitting howl rips the air apart and a grey blur flashes through the space I'd just vacated.

"What the-"

"Wolfos!" Navi shouts, appearing out of nowhere as a bright yellow flash above the monster's head. Thank the Goddess Mido hadn't seen her-

"Link!" Jazmyn screams, yanking me back to the fight. I dodge roll another swipe of the fearsome claws, coming up with my blade in hand. Jazmyn slashes at it from the other side, and it rears around, growling low in its throat. A smack from the end of Leyan's staff makes it whine in anger, its massive jaws snapping at the wood. I take the opening and jump, lodging my sword in the back of the neck. A soft whimper escapes before the beast collapses, turning to black ash before our eyes.

I knock the dust from my sword before sheathing it, ignoring the twinge in my shoulder.

"Over the hedges, then?" Leyan asks nonchalantly, putting his staff away. I crouch next to the nearest one, cupping my hands into stirrups.

"Who's first?" Jazmyn shoves Leyan over and mirrors me, much to his exasperation.

"What? I can lift you, you can't lift me. Let's go," She commands. Leyan shakes his head with a sigh, gripping our shoulders for balance. He steps lightly onto our hands, crouching in preparation.

"One, two, three-" Together Jazmyn and I heave, launching Leyan high enough to hook his arms over the edge. He scrambles on top quickly, reaching down to help us. "Your turn." I motion Jazmyn over to stand under Leyan's hands, resting my hands lightly on her hips to help. Navi buzzes by my face and I huff her away, not in a mood for teasing. But not even my mood keeps my cheeks from warming as she resettles my hands higher up on her waist.

She counts down this time, jumping as I lift to help her reach Leyan's outstretched hands. I have to drop quickly to avoid a flailing boot to the face, failing at indignation as she laughs at me.

"Hey! That would have hurt!"

"Sorry!" She giggles, reaching one hand down with Leyan. I mock growl at the twin expressions of amusement on their faces and jump, just catching their hands. They haul backwards, flopping me down onto the top of the hedge. I work to my feet, spreading them wide on the soft surface to compensate for my pack.

"Six or so leaps thataway and we're there," I say, pointing to the stair I can just make out at the other end of the maze.

"Shhh!" Leyan hisses suddenly, waving us back from the edge. I quickly pull Navi under my hat to keep her quiet. Leyan drops to his stomach and peeks over the edge, drawing back quickly. "Moblins," he whispers as the tip of a spear bobs by.

I swore quietly, dropping to my stomach to peek over the edge with him. Yep, there are moblins alright. Patrolling the maze from the look of things. Definitely an upgrade from the Scrubs that use to hide in the corners.

"They're pretty dumb. They probably won't know we're up here if we stay out of sight," Jazmyn contributes from behind us. I slide back and stand up slowly, wincing at the rustle of leaves.

"It's worth a shot. It's the only way to get there." I take a deep breath once, twice, and then leap, crossing the gap easily and landing lightly on the next side. I glance back and see Jazmyn and Leyan waiting as the moblin walks back the other way and decide to leave them to their own devices. Speaking of Navi, I could have sworn…

I time my next few leaps carefully, only moving when the moblins' backs were to me. Eventually I'm only one leap away from the stairs, and—there it was!

"Link, I think that's…." Navi whispers from the top of my head.

"Me too!" I grin, rummaging in my pack to extract the last of the rope and bending to tie it securely to the top of the hedge. A large figure suddenly landing next to me nearly knocks me off the edge before I realize it's only Jazmyn.

"What are you doing?" She whispers, trying to be conscious of the monsters below us.

"See that hole?" I whisper back, pointing to the little enclosed square before us. "It's a Fairy Fountain." Jazmyn frankly stares at me, her eyebrows trumpeting disbelief. I toss the rope down towards the hole anyway, pleased to see it's long enough to disappear down it.

"What are we doing?" Leyan asks quietly as he lands on my other side.

"Finding a Fairy for Jonathon," I whisper back, swinging off the hedge to slip down the rope. I quickly slip into the hole, hanging onto the rope to let myself down. Luckily it's long enough, so my feet touch ground before I run out of rope. I let go so the others can follow if they wish and trot off down the familiar passageway.

..Familiar? How can this place be familiar if I've never-

My train of thought derails itself as I round a corner and find exactly what I was hoping for-a Fairy Fountain. A small pool of water ripples in the middle of a few stone columns that look older than even the trees in the forest above, and light pink fairies dance among them playfully.

"Whoa!" I grin at Jazmyn's hushed sound of reverence, digging into my pouch.

"I'm glad I was right. We can take one back for Jon, to heal his leg." I extract the bottle I was looking for and edge forward, trying not to startle the fairies.

"They really have healing powers?" Jazmyn whispers, reaching out to touch one with her finger.

"Don't!" Leyan grabs her hand with a hushed command as I swipe at one with the bottle and miss. "If you touch them they'll heal you and disappear."

My next swipe catches one and I stuff the stopper in quickly so it can't escape.

"Here! Now Jon won't have to wait a month while his leg heals," I stuff the bottle back into my pouch, making sure to avoid the fairies as I step away from the fountain.

"Navi, did you tell Link about this place?" Jazmyn asks, touching one of the columns.

"Kinda…we both guessed what it was at the same time," she replies. I can imagine her peeking out from under my hat to answer and I just have to grin.

"It's too bad we can't take one for everyone who was injured…" Leyan comments as he looks at the fairies rather wistfully.

"You can take as many as you want. These spirits are born of residual magic from the forest; more will appear with time." Navi says sagely from under my hat. I chuckle and reach for another bottle but Leyan waves me off.

"No, don't worry about it. From what we saw nothing looked life threatening, and they all deserve a little rest. Jon is the only one who'll be chewing at the bit to get back to work!" We all share a short laugh as we head back to the rope, clambering up one after the other. It's harder to get back on top of the hedges without making noise, but at this point I'm not worried. Not like they can reach us up here after all.

The last jump down is the most nerve wracking before we're all up the stairs just in time to run face-to-face into a big, dumb brute of a moblin. Emphasis on the _big_.

"That thing is taller than a _house_." Leyan breathed.

"No time to think, Leyan," Jazmyn snaps, pulling her sword free as the moblin turns around and spots us. It raises its club with a roar, racing forward to crush us into oblivion. Jazmyn holds her ground until the last moment, jumping right as Leyan and I leap left to avoid the enormous club. A wounded roar greets us as Jazmyn slashes the things hamstring. It falls to one knee trying to slash behind itself at us. My sword is in my hand before I know it, and a leap and a stab later the moblin was dead, reduced from a brute to a lump of dead flesh. I yank my sword back out, snorting at the rank stench.

"I can't believe these stupid things are here. Saria'd be so pissed." I mutter, wiping the blood off on the grass.

"Link, could Saria maybe be…" My head snaps up at the implied question hanging in the air as Jazmyn trails off. "I mean, Mido said she hasn't been back in weeks…"

"No. I don't believe that. She can't be…come on." I sheath my sword to cover the shaking in my hands and stalk off down the corridor.

"Link…" Navi flutters next to me, her little hand stroking my face. I sniff mightily to force back any possible tears and step out into Saria's Sanctuary, a hallow set into the remnants of an old mountain, filled with greenery.

"Why exactly do you think this place leads to the Temple?" Jazmyn questions. I don't trust my voice just yet, so instead I show them, sweeping the years accumulation of dirt and leaves off the one clue I could think of. A large stone tablet, engraved with the symbol of the Forest.

"_Set in stone and left in silence, To give aid to peace or violence, Only the one who wields the music, Can find the passage and to use it."_ Leyan breaths, dropping to his knees. He reaches out reverently, stopping just short of touching the stone. "That poem—it has something to do with this stone. They mark the Temples, and you're…they're meant to be used somehow, but no one really knows," he explains, probably for my benefit.

"Well yeah, it's something to do with the Ocarina—" Navi's gasp interrupts and I whirl to face the same direction she is, my hand resting on my sword.

"You-!" I start, recognizing the form of the man from the Temple of Time. I don't get more than a half breath in again before something blurs past me and Jazmyn launches herself at him. "Wai-!"

"Sheik!" My motion is completely frozen as I find Jazmyn hugging the purple shadow, her face radiant.

"Sheik? What are you doing here? Impa said you were on assignment," Leyan says beside me, rising to brush his knees off.

"Hold up, you mean to tell me you two know this bastard?" I demand.

"Bastard? That is a little strong, do you not think?" The aforementioned bastard drawled, returning Jazmyn's hug.

"Oh no, for you it is perfectly fitting." I stalk forward, yanking him closer to me and away from Jazmyn by what little I could grasp of his jumpsuit. "You let me waltz into Castle Town with nothing but a song and my sword! You couldn't even warn me about the damn redeads?" I demand, giving him a shake. His hands clamp down on mine and squeeze, forcing me to drop him. He steps back and dusts off his uniform, his eye frozen fire.

"There was no time. I only had a few moments."

"No time? You had time to teach me a song but not warn me?!"

"The flow of time is always cruel. Its speed seems different for each person, but no one can change it. A thing that doesn't change with time is a memory of younger days. In order to come back here again, play the Minuet of Forest." He pulls out the same harp as last time, rapidly plucking the strings to create a lively, bouncing tune.

"Hang on a second, I am not done talking!"  
"Sheik what are you doing?"

"Where did you get that?" We all speak at once, the melody twining through our words. I find suddenly that the Ocarina is in my hand, and against my will I take up the melody, some internal force over riding my anger. Our instruments dance, the melody and harmony playing with each other much as Saria and I did all those years ago.

Sheik is nodding as the song sweeps to a close, his quick fingers letting the final notes fade away like laughter. "You picked it up very well Link. Be careful in the Temple. It holds more danger than you think."

"Sheik, what is all this about? Why on earth are you here?" Jazmyn demands, moving forward. He moves back at the same rate, a wary look on his face.

"I'll see you again." I throw my arm up in time to protect my eyes as his Din-forsaken deku nut explodes. Leyan and Jazmyn aren't so lucky, and are left blinking hard in the dim forest light.

"I hate that he started using those things. Stupid Sheikah and their pathological need for stealth," Jazmyn curses, rubbing hard at her eyes.

"Would one of you please explain how you know that idiot?" I demand, still so angry I can hardly see straight.

"He's a cousin or something of Impa's. Trained with us. He helped us recruit people when we started the resistance." Leyan provides.

"But lately he's always been disappearing all the time. Impa said he was on special assignments, but I honestly can't think of anything that wouldn't need at least two people," Jazmyn complains, shoving her bangs out of her face.

"Hmph. He's a useless jerk," I huff, turning away from where he disappeared. "Whatever, we have a Temple to save."

"What? You know where it is?" Leyan asks quickly, looking around.

"Yep. Right there." I point to one of the cliff walls, where the crumbled remnants of an old staircase disappear into the darkness. "We just have to get up there."

"…Would this help?" Jazmyn asks quietly, pulling something from her bag. "It was Dampé's."

"Wait, Dampé's?" I ask, reaching for it. I heft the metal construct, examining the sharp point and the mostly-concealed chain below. "Sheik said I would need this."

"I thought he was useless jerk?" Leyan comments drily. I scowl at him, fitting the device over my glove and gripping the handle tightly.

"Well, maybe just a jerk. Now who's first? I don't think it can handle all three of us."

"Me," Jazmyn volunteers. "I'm lightest. But, what is it?"

"Our ticket up," I explain vaguely, silently hoping my guess is right. I wrap my free arm around Jazmyn's waist. "Hang on tight." She captures my shoulders in death grips, causing me to wince. I lift the device, aiming it at a sturdy looking branch hanging over the last remaining steps of the staircase. "Please be a hookshot…" I mutter.

"What?"

"Here we go!"

XXXX


End file.
